Marvellous: Scarlet
by Dangan
Summary: Part 2 of the "Marvels of RWBY" Series. Ruby Rose begins her journey to train as a Huntress at Beacon after an act of amateur heroics. Will she survive an onslaught of goons, Grimm and the hidden machinations of Roman Torchwick?
1. Chapter 1

" _I find myself at the brink of a scientific discovery today._

 _My research into those anomalous Hunters and Huntresses that were so generously… provided to me by my benefactor has borne new fruit. Where once I thought that their unique abilities were the result of exceptionally rare or powerful Semblances, I now know the truth._

 _It is not a Semblance or Aura or anything related to the will. Their abilities are purely physical._

 _This is groundbreaking work. I shudder to think about the possibilities this presents. What if we could give these abilities to other human beings? Without the threat of a Citrine-esque massacre, we could empower more people to Hunt!_

 _We could finally turn back the tide of the Grimm for good!_

 _I will continue my research. My superiors will be pleased to see the potential in this work, I'm sure."_

 _From the Recovered Pages of Professor Argen's Journal._

* * *

The cool autumnal air blew in through the open door. Through it stepped a man with a bowler hat, a cane and several large goons behind him. He walked with an easy air of confidence before he smiled, teeth bared, at the shopkeeper.

"Good evening!" The man with the cane widened his arms in flamboyant fashion.

"Please, the money's in the machine. Just don't hurt me…" The old man behind the counter held his hands in front of his face.

"Good to know." The other man gestured. He turned to face one of his suited minions and sneered. "Get the Dust. Leave nothing behind."

The goons walked over to the massive tubes that lined the walls in various vibrant colours of the rainbow and slammed in their thieving tubes. The rush of Dust burst into life through the store.

None of this mattered to Ruby Rose, who flicked through her magazine while her music blasted in her ears.

 _Vale Hunting's really gone downhill recently. Maybe I should take a look at Mistali Warriors News…_

"Hey, kid!" One of the minions shouted at the red dipped hair girl. "Put your hands in the air!"

Ruby just continued to bob her head in time with her music, which did little to draw her attention from the articles.

 _Oooooh! New Dust enhanced weaponry!_

"Hey!" The minion stomped over and gently tapped Ruby on the shoulder with the flat of his cleaver.

Ruby removed her headphones. "Yes?"

"Gimme your wallet, kid." The goon slurred out.

"Wait. You're robbing me?" Ruby asked while her hands drifted behind her back. The familiar comforting weight of her hand built weapon slowed her pulse.

"Boss's orders." The keen edge of the blade flicked close to her cheek.

"Oooooh…" Ruby nodded as understanding dawned.

The glass barely had time to shatter. The man skidded across the rough concrete ground before being kicked straight in the face with a steel capped boot. Ruby felt her Aura flow easily through her, the familiar feeling of speed and power rushing through her veins.

She turned and faced the now broken window only to find it now filled with the looming figures of other suited goons with weaponry. Their bright red shades gave the men an odd sense of uniformity even as their suits and fancy clothes seemed to separate them.

 _C'mon. Let's show 'em what we can do, sweetheart…_

Ruby spun her hand around and unleashed the full length of Crescent Rose. For a moment, the only noise that could be heard up or down the street was the clicking and whirring of the mighty weapon's transformation. As the weapon fully revealed itself, Ruby half-smiled towards the window and slammed.

The man with the bowler hat looked mildly impressed. "Well that's new…" He looked at his minions for a moment. None of them moved. "Go get her!"

That penetrated the thick skulls of the gathered criminals. In a startling lack of tactical thinking, all four of the men decided to bull rush the girl.

 _Perfect._

The first one raised his arm high and slashed down with all his weight behind the blow. Dodging easily, Ruby hefted her small frame up onto the shaft of the sniper-scythe and kicked straight into the minion's face. His body flew back into the wall as another slid in past him with his sharp cleaver raised high above his head.

Not waiting for the inevitable strike, Ruby leapt up into the air and hammered the heavy blunt end of Crescent Rose's scythe into the man's head. The small plastic shades clattered against the ground in small twinkling pieces before Ruby's boot crushed them. The two remaining men, clearly the intellectual core of their band of malcontents, decided that the best course of action was to try and bull rush the girl with a combat sniper-scythe who had just beaten their comrades with nary a breath of effort.

The resulting blows to the face, along with their broken jaws from the damage, were their own fault entirely.

"Fantastic. Worth every penny, you were." The man in the bowler hat sighed. "Well, Red, it's been great. Really, big fan of the whole scythe thing. But…" He flicked up his cane, revealing the small tube hidden within. A small popping noise and a click preceded a small smile from the bowler hat man. "I'm sorry to say, this is where I leave you."

The blinding firework erupted from the end of the cane. Raising Crescent Rose into a defensive position, Ruby felt a strange tingle ripple over her. Feeling the world slow, Ruby Rose closed her eyes and lowered her weapon, not seeing the point in blocking.

Instead, she looked around. The missile was still coming towards her but far slower than it should. Air rippled around the bright object as a single small bird seemed to hover in mid air above her. The world in its' entirety seemed to be moving as if it were covered in molasses.

 _Not now!_ She thought even as the firework slid past her. _Please, not now!_ Her eyes followed it as it slammed into the dull concrete of a building behind her.

Abruptly, the world lurched back into full speed. The bowler hat man was a couple of steps into a full sprint. Ruby felt her Aura pulse as she surged forward into his path. The rose petals swirled around her, almost **became** her, while she held out Crescent Rose in a blocking gesture.

"You're not going anywhere!" She said defiantly. The mighty scythe slammed into the ground, a spiderweb of cracks expanding out from the base.

"I think I am." A flash of Aura from the bowler hat man enhanced his speed into a rapid flurry of movement. The cane handle wrapped around her ankle before Ruby slammed into the ground. "Nice try, Red!" The sound of leather against pavement was like thunder in Ruby's ears.

She sprung to her feet. Looking around frantically, she saw the bright white coat of the man ascending the fire escape of a nearby building. She could feel his Aura speed his movements still with his hands rapidly propelling him up into the skyline.

Ruby closed her eyes and felt the slight shift of wind behind her. She turned for an instant. "You okay if I go after him?" She said.

Before the old man had even finished nodding, Ruby launched herself towards the ladder and pulled the trigger on Crescent Rose. The recoil flung her high into the air as she landed easily on the roof. The man stood alone, his white jacket providing stark contrast to the black backdrop of night. His cane rested easily in his hands.

"Why can't they ever just let it go?" The bowler hat man muttered to himself. He turned to face Ruby, his deep green eyes piercing in the moonlight. The elegant suit jacket he wore fluttered gently as he stretched his arms out to his sides. He smiled as a rush of displaced wind burst up behind him. A huge metal construct burst up, soaring into the night sky, with its' blades whirring rapidly.

The great roaring of a bulkhead might have taken her attention off of the criminal leader for only a split second but it was enough. With a casual backflip, the bowler hat man launched himself into the now open bay of the bulkhead. His Aura wrapped gently around him like a well worn blanket, forming a protective shield around him. The high calibre bullets from Crescent Rose did little as they whirred through the air, warped by that same field.

Holding up a hand, the bowler hatted man revealed a single gleaming crystal of red Dust.

"Good try!" He shouted. "But this ends here." He threw the twinkling crystal out of the flying behemoth he stood in and, before it could touch the ground, he fired another missile straight at it.

Ruby could feel the world slow, feel that strange wrongness come over her. She took a small moment to see-

 _Who's that?!_

Landing in slow motion was a figure in a white suit of plate armor. The slight gold detailing across both armor and shield gave the person a royal impact even as the shield was batting away the Dust crystal. Their broad frame was a clear indication of some form of training if the speed at which they moved, even to her rapid perception, hadn't tipped her off. Her mind put together the pieces even as her face stared in wonder.

 _A Hunter!_

The world sped up again. The heavy slam of boot against roof echoed heavily in her ears.

"Miss Rose," The figure said, their helmet showing only their piercing blue eyes. "I'm going to ask that you stand back a little."

The figure drew out a pistol. A flicker of fire later, the bulkhead started to wobble and awkwardly shift in mid air.

"Mind shooting at the blades?" The figure asked. Ruby could only pull out Crescent Rose and begin laying down fire. The figure, however, began to glow brightly.

 _What're they doing? Their Aura is pooling but they can't make that-_

A roaring fire of Aura ripped through the air and crashed into the side of the bulkhead, sending it spinning. The rotating blades started to slow as the heavy vehicle started to dip.

"Yeah!" The figure shouted in joy. "Keep it- Oh no."

Ruby stared at the bulkhead as a tall woman in a bright red dress stalked into view. With an almost dismissive gesture, a roaring bolt of fire tore through the air back at the armored figure. The shield they wielded batted it away.

Then they started to rain down from the bulkhead. A literal firestorm collided with the roof top.

"Move!" The figure cried out. Pointlessly, as it turned out. Ruby was already weaving in and out of the fiery projectiles.

The figure responded with their same white hot blasts of Aura. The bolts of energy blasted back and forth with the armored figure having to dance around. With a mighty roar, they unleashed a huge blast straight at the side of the bulkhead.

The metal flying behemoth just tilted away from the worst of the damage. The bullets from Crescent Rose peppered the hull. A dim orange glow pulsed out of the middle of the ship. The ground below Ruby and the strange figure began to rapidly heat up.

"Move, Ruby!" The figure began to shout. Once again, the world slowed.

Ruby, shaking her head, stepped easily out of the glowing circle of potential death and stood easily waiting for the world to catch up with her.

The figure, however, had no such ease. They dived out of the way just before a tower of blinding hot fire burst straight up from the ground. The warbling sound of the slowed bulkhead rippled through the air even as the world sped up.

Ruby started to fire Crescent Rose again. She was stopped, a little too easily she felt, by the figure in armor.

"Don't." They said. "Won't do any good. Regular rounds won't do anything." They sighed heavily before sliding their shield back to their hip and closing the wings of the shield.

"Who are you?" Ruby said wonder creeping into her voice.

The figure looked around before chuckling slightly and removing their helmet. Their blond hair ruffled in the wind as their strong chin and piercing blue eyes. A man, although a young one, stood before her. An easy smile was painted on his features even as a single scar marred his right cheek.

"Jaune Arc." He said. "Pleasure's mine. Now, you'll need to come with me."

"Are you a Hunter?" Ruby asked.

The figure shook his head and chuckled slightly. "I wish. Been in training for the last year though. Nah, I'm just like you. Minus the fancy speed trick."

"Oh, you mean the Rose Walk? Yeah, I've had it for a while-"

"No, no." The words cut through the conversation like a knife. "I mean the other thing. The trick you did without Aura."

The world lurched underneath Ruby as thoughts rushed through her head.

 _Oh no! He knows! They're gonna lock me up! He's not even a Hunter! Oh no oh no oh no… I could escape. I could just run and no-one would ever need to know about this and-_

"Ruby?" Jaune asked. "You okay?"

 _Okay, maybe I can play it off._

"I don't know what you mean." She said.

Jaune simply raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Just like you would know absolutely nothing about how you managed to dodge that rocket at point blank range."

 _Okay, new strategy. Maybe he's friendly?_

"How'd you find out about that?"

Jaune chuckled again. "Reports of a reddish blur on the outskirts of Signal Academy. People got worried that it was some kind of Grimm. I thought differently. You'd be surprised how many people there are with your sort of tricks. How long've you had it?"

"A year or so."

"Huh." Jaune replied, stroking his chin in thought. "Alright, well, the sooner we can get you in, the sooner we can get this whole thing sorted out."

"Where do you want to take me?" She pulled Crescent Rose closer.

Jaune sighed. "I just need to debrief you. It's not often that people get involved in-"

"Why do you need to debrief me?!" Ruby shouted. "There were bad guys, I stopped them, crazy people got away! What else is there?"

Jaune placed his palm to his face. "Listen-"

"How did you even find me!? The street was completely empty! I would have felt some sort of Aura, especially if you'd had to dash up the building like I did!"

"Please, just-"

"What did the guy with the bowler hat want with all that Dust? Why couldn't we shoot the bulkhead after that weird fire lady showed up?! What about-" The words flurried out of Ruby's mouth.

"Just! Shhhh!" Jaune shouted, sounding surprisingly childish as he did so. "I'm trying to explain here. Can you just calm down for like five minutes?!"

The two stood on the cool rooftop awkwardly, letting the wind blow between them. "Good." Jaune said taking a deep breath. "Never goes smoothly. Why do these things never go smoothly…" he muttered before composing himself.

"My name is Jaune Arc. I… _work_ for the Prism Foundation. It's my job, among others, to investigate people who might be able to help our goals. Your name popped up."

"Prism? You mean the medical patch people? Why are they interested in me?"

Jaune looked a little confused before slowly answering. "Did you not just see what happened there? The whole kicking ass thing? You don't even use your gift and-"

"It's not a gift." Ruby muttered.

"Huh?"

"It's not a gift." Ruby said louder. "It's weird and it's creepy and it feels all sorts of wrong and I can't control it and-"

"That's what Prism can help with. At least," He hummed for a moment. "We have facilities to help." He shook his head once again. "Listen, that's not important right now. What is,is that performance of combat skill that you just showed down there. Not many fifteen year olds can do that."

Ruby felt her chest rise with pride before nerves slammed it back down. "You're gonna take me to a lab to dissect me, aren't you?"

"No." The word was like a great stone dropping between them. "I can't tell you what's going to happen but I can tell that there's no way that Prism would do anything like that to you. What're you so afraid of?"

"You haven't felt it!" Ruby shouted suddenly to Jaune's surprise. "It's not like Aura. It feels wrong to be moving when the world around you is all slow. It activates at all the wrong times. Like this one time, I was running for cardio training and it activated and I'd managed to dig a trench on the training field from running in circles!" She puffed as she vented. "It's weird! I don't want to be weird!"

Jaune stood there, face an impenetrable mask. His eyes boring into her, he took a single step towards Ruby.

Then he burst out laughing.

"It's not funny!" Ruby protested.

"I'm sorry!" Jaune laughed. "It's just…" He laughed again. "Man, I wish I'd had your problems."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, nothing." Jaune waved her off. "Anyway, come with me. I promise, it's just a quick chat with someone from Prism."

Ruby's thoughts began to speed up once again.

 _What's going to happen? I mean, Dad'll probably kill me once he finds out what happened here even if it's not all bad… Jaune seems nice, little weird, feels different in Aura than he should…_

 _It can't be that bad can it?_

 _What about the weirdness?_ Some dark part of her mind whispered. _No way they'll just let you leave._

 _Jaune said…_

 _You're really trusting the guy you just met? C'mon._

 _But he leapt in to protect us!_

Ruby just stood stock still as her mind warred with itself. Eventually, she looked at Jaune with a new fire in her eyes.

"Alright." She said. "Where are we going?"

"Prism building, a couple blocks from here." Jaune smiled back. "We'd better not use Aura. Police aren't exactly keen on us using it in the city for non-emergencies."

"What?" Ruby said, letting the Aura flow out of her.

"Don't ask me why. Just recently they've been real touchy about it and I don't want to have to deal with my boss if we do."

The two leapt off the building with casual ease, both landing with a dull thump against the pavement.

"Cool weapon by the way." Jaune said, a knowing smile on his face.

"Really?!" Ruby cheered before composing herself. "I mean, yeah. Crescent Rose is pretty cool and all. Worked really hard on it. What's your weapon?"

Jaune flicked out Crocea Mors to full shield as he drew the sword. "Meet Crocea Mors. Been upgraded a little since I first used it."

"What's the long range attack?"

"I throw it. Hard."

Ruby chuckled. At Jaune's straight face, she replied. "Oh, wait you're serious!?"

Jaune laughed back. "Yeah. I mean, I have Tribune as a backup but the sword and shield do well enough."

"But doesn't it get tiring switching between them?"

"Doesn't it get tiring carrying a sniper-scythe around with you at all times?"

Ruby just whispered back. "Good point."

* * *

 _(I'm back. Did you miss me?_

 _As always, many thanks to **rwbyfan5** for his beta reading. Keep on kicking butt!_

 _Expect updates every Saturday with the occasional update on a Wednesday._

 _Feel free to leave a review! I'm always interested to hear from readers._

 _Until next time!)_


	2. Chapter 2

" _ **Day One:**_ _My visit to the Shade Academy to visit the Headmaster was most… enlightening. I have managed to advance several small projects to completion and in so doing have advanced in my work sufficiently to start work on the basics of the LMD project._

 _Namely, the outside shell. The work into bandages saw an interesting avenue of skin-texture wraps that could be placed directly onto wounds and heal them almost as well as Aura does Huntsmen. While the healing side of things ran into significant troubles, (See Project Notes 2-3TP) the skin texture turned out flawlessly on the bandages._

 _I no longer need to have those metal limbs exposed in order for them to function. Soldiers in the future, if there even are soldiers, will be able to have the enhancement operation without fear of exposure in civilian life. They won't have to hide behind bulky clothes for the sake of a normal existence._

 _It is a grand project. The LMD project will inevitably save lives, provided we can solve the other issues._

 _But I have time now. Time enough to work."_

 _From the Project LMD Notes of Professor Polendina._

* * *

The blinding light from the overhead bulb only seemed to serve to darken the rest of the room. Even as she couldn't see any details, Ruby could faintly make out the telltale wheezing of an old air conditioner in the corner of the room. She let her thoughts wander as the iron door across from her barricaded her exit.

 _Man, can't these guys afford better chairs? You'd think that they'd be able to, what with all those fancy medical things they keep inventing. And where is everyone? I thought they'd want to get me out of here as soon as possible._

Her thoughts were disrupted by a low rumbling of voices near the door. She focused her Aura into her ears, letting the rush of sounds flow into her and quickly eliminating the useless and overpowering ones with practiced ease.

"Sir." _That's Jaune. Seems… strained?._ Ruby thought.

"I'll need to speak to her first, Mr Arc." _That's a new one. Jaune's boss?_

"Sir, she's perfect for the program. She took down four of Torchwick's minions without breaking a sweat. Her abilities even seem to be under some form of control."

"Really." _That's not good._ "She used them in combat then?"

A dead pause was all that met Ruby's ears. "Well, no Sir. But she did seem to adapt to them remarkably-"

"Jaune." A note of concern entered the unfamiliar voice. "I know you haven't had much success with the program. But that isn't a reason to try and get every Marvel you encounter onto it. Need I remind you of the Schnee incident?"

A sigh. "At least let me talk to her first. Get her view on things?"

"If you think it best. Come and get me when you're finished."

Ruby quickly shut off the flow of Aura enhancing her senses as the door creaked open. For a split second, it sounded like a roaring wave had slammed into her head. The feeling quickly subsided.

"You heard that, I take it?" Jaune asked. His armor was off, revealing a hoodie and jeans combination that made him seem almost normal. Only the scar betrayed any sense that he might be anything other than a normal teenager.

That, and the large cartoon rabbit plastered across his chest.

"Uh…" Ruby's eyes remained focused on the rabbit.

Jaune looked down. His eyes flicked back up and he mock glared, almost in challenge. "You leave the hoodie alone. Now, how much did you hear?"

"Not much. Who's the other guy?" Ruby asked, her nerves frayed even as she put on a tough front.

"You'll meet him soon enough." Jaune shrugged. "I get that you've got questions. I can't answer everything but-"

"Why was I kept here so long?"

Jaune looked at her for a second, that same intense stare he'd had on the rooftop, and then nodded. "Standard procedure. Nothing much I can do there." Jaune sighed as a knot of tension seemed to build in his shoulders. "I've got a difficult question for you. I need you to answer honestly or not at all. That okay?"

The sudden seriousness in his voice made Ruby sit up straight up. She felt her own tension sprint up her spine. "Okay." She said uncertainly.

"Why are you training to be a Huntress?"

The question hung in the air for a moment before Ruby launched into her practiced tirade. "I wanna help people, y'know? Plus, there's Dad and Yang and-"

"Wait." Jaune asked. "Yang? As in Xiao Long?"

"You know her?"

Jaune smiled knowingly. "By reputation more than anything else." He looked her right in the eyes before continuing. "Funny, she wasn't mentioned in your file."

"File? What file?" _What's going on here?!_

"Prism… likes to keep an eye on people like you. I was put in charge, in a way, of recruiting for something special. I investigated several other individuals before eventually settling on you."

"Why?!"

Jaune smiled. "Ruby Rose, fifteen years old." His tone seemed to suggest he was remembering something. "Aura activated at age eleven with her Semblance following not more than a couple of months after. Her semblance, dubbed "Rose Walk" allows her exceptional maneuverability and speed on the battlefield by surrounding her in Aura shards that manifest as rose petals. Attends Signal Academy, with top marks in her class at practical application with mid to high marks for theory. Aura combat, weapon tests both ranged and melee, even Grimm combat. That little stunt with the Beowolves was particularly impressive."

Ruby hid under the praise, blushing slightly, until her anger seemed to overtake her. "How long have you been watching me?!"

"About a year. One of our… operatives noted your speed. That and those reports I mentioned earlier painted a pretty clear picture for me."

"Who were they? Who told you?!"

"I can't say." Jaune slid back in his chair. Ruby glared intensely. "No, seriously. He'd kill me. All I can tell you is that he did it out of care. Trust me, Prism isn't going to do anything that you don't want."

Ruby huffed, her anger still pressing down her panic. "Fine." She stared down at Jaune, her glare still taking pride of place. "So what were you going to talk to me about?"

"It's simple." Jaune stood up, his tall frame looming over her. "I'd like you to join my team. Your performance tonight was all I needed to see."

Ruby just shook her head. "Nope. I'm a Huntress or, at least, I'm going to be."

"You can do both!" Jaune shouted, his enthusiasm overtaking his careful language earlier. "Nothing says that-"

"I'm a Huntress." Ruby said, the words like stones dropping. "I'd rather focus on that."

"But-"

"No."

Jaune sagged back into his chair. Ruby just sat across from him, her resolve outwardly strong. Internally…

 _Oh man. He looks like I just kicked his puppy. Maybe I should-_

 _No. Remember what Dad told us. No going anywhere with strange boys._

 _I don't think Dad had this in mind…_

 _Silence! It still fits._

Abruptly, Jaune launched up from his seat. A deep breath burst from his mouth. "Alright." He nodded. "It's your choice."

He walked out of the room, a grey cloud of depression seeming to hang around him.

Ruby closed her eyes and let loose a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. The low rumble of the air conditioner was her only company as the minutes seemed to tick on by.

Eventually, Ruby started to feel her nerves creep up her spine. Her anger, once at the forefront of her mind, quickly slipped into the backseat.

 _Maybe I was too harsh. Jaune seemed nice, I could have been nicer, Oh no!, What if they arrest me?! They could, I shouldn't have been using Crescent Rose in city limits, But that man was getting robbed! I had to help!_

The flurry of thoughts continued in this panicked vein until the door creaked open. A grey haired man with a green scarf and a plate of cookies walked into the room.

 _No way! That's…_

"I'm sorry for Mr Arc." He interrupted her thoughts with an easy placement of the plate on the table. "He's been through alot this last year. For what it's worth, he truly does think you'd be a good addition."

"Oh." She said, grabbing a cookie. "That's… good."

 _Eat the cookie, try and not screw up in front of the incredibly influential headmaster._

"So, Miss Rose…" Ozpin paused. He seemed to stare intensely at her before continuing. "You have silver eyes."

"Yes?" She said.

"Fascinating." Ozpin sat down, the chair gently scraping across the floor. "Why did you fight those men?"

"Well, you see…" She took a deep breath. "It's all kind of a blur, see, I was standing in the shop, minding my own business and then one of them threatened me with a really sharp looking sword and then I just kind of went into auto pilot. My combat training just kicked in and then I started punching and kicking and slamming people in the head with Crescent Rose, that's my weapon, and then the guy with the bowler hat, Torchwick I think, I might have overheard the name while I was sitting here, shot at me. I dodged and then I chased him and then Jaune showed up just as Torchwick, is that his name?, shot me again and then Jaune started to do all of this weird stuff with his Aura, I think it was his Aura, it felt weird and then there was fire all around me and I dodged that as well and yeah that's all."

Ozpin just stared at Ruby, his lack of surprise showing across his face. "That doesn't quite answer my question, Miss Rose."

Ruby's eyes widened. "I wanted to help people." She rushed through her words. "I thought I should do something. Mom and Dad always taught me to help people and I thought 'Hey, this guy needs help.'" She took another cookie and shoved it whole into her mouth. Another cookie soon met the same fate.

"Ah." Ozpin said, nodding. "Who was it that taught you to use that sniper-scythe? There aren't many who would pick such a dangerous weapon."

"Thash maya ungleh!" She said through a mouthful of cookies. A quick swallow and she spoke again. "It was my uncle Qrow. He kicks butt! I was all 'boo, I can't use weapons, they all have too much recoil' and he came in and taught me to use the scythe and the recoil and now I'm all like 'Wah! Wahcha! Wooo wha!'"

The accompanying karate gestures brought a small smile to Ozpin's face.

"I see." Ozpin said. "So, what are your plans?"

"Sorry?"

"You're training to become a Huntress. What do you plan to do once you leave this place?"

"Well…" She paused. "I've only got two years left at Signal. Hopefully, after that, I'll apply to Beacon. My sister's going there this year. I think I might be able to get in while she's there and we can go be Huntresses together!" A small smile finished off her sentence.

Ozpin stared over the rims of his deep black glasses. "You know who I am, don't you."

Ruby just stared at Ozpin. "You're Headmaster Ozpin. You run Beacon."

Ozpin chuckled softly. "Mostly, I suppose." He stood up and faced the door. "Miss Rose, I am willing to present you with a… unique opportunity. But there are several conditions attached to it." He turned around and looked at Ruby right in the eyes. "Are you willing to hear them out?"

Ruby nodded, the same uncertainty rushing through her.

"I am more than happy for you to attend Beacon Academy for this coming academic year. A girl of your talents would be a welcome addition to the campus." Seeing Ruby's eyes brighten, he quickly followed up. "First, I would ask that you accept Mr Arc's proposal and join his team. I'd rather see you working with your gifts than actively working against them."

The hopeful light in Ruby's eyes quickly faded. "Uh, Sir?"

"Yes, Miss Rose?"

Ruby paused, her arm wrapped across her chest in a protective gesture. "I don't really… I mean, I don't think…"

Ozpin waited with his hands on his cane.

"Why do you want me to use this… thing that I have?" Ruby asked.

Ozpin hummed. "Miss Rose, you use your Aura in combat, yes?"

"Yes, Sir."

"And you have a remarkable Semblance that you also use to help you fight, yes?"

"Yes…"

"And I daresay you wouldn't go anywhere without Crescent Rose, would you." A statement more than a question.

"Of course!"

"With all that being true, why on Remnant would you not use your fascinating gift? Another skill, another ability, could mean the difference between victory and defeat. I see no reason why you should not use it." He paused a moment, tapping his cane gently against the ground.

"Besides, Mr Arc would be more than happy to help you control it. He's been working with people like you for a while. A pity that none of them have decided to join him." A silence passed through the room between headmaster and hopeful student. "That's part of the reason I'm offering you a place at Beacon. Mr Arc can work with you more closely at Beacon than he could with you at Signal." Ruby nodded her head uncertainly as Ozpin carried on his pitch.

"Secondly, I must ask that you keep the… unique circumstances of your enrollment to yourself. I do not wish to have a run of over enthusiastic fools throwing themselves into danger without the proper training. Even if they had gifts of their own, few enough of them also have your training to go with them."

Another nod from the red-dipped haired girl. "Last, I will need you to convince your father to let you go."

"What?"

Ozpin took off his glasses, rubbing them against his bottle green jacket before speaking again. "Currently, you are under his care and tutelage. Doubly so, in fact, as your teacher he would have to sign off on any transfers anyway. You are also two years underage for the training at Beacon. There is little I can do if your father finds your enrollment objectionable." Ozpin chuckled a little to himself. "While I'm sure he won't, I'd rather have his clear consent than have him storming the walls of Beacon to get his little girl back." He looked the girl in the eyes. "Do you agree to these terms?"

Ruby's thoughts began to speed into overdrive before one screeching thought brought them to a halt.

 _I get to be a Huntress. Surely anything is worth that?_

 _Yes._

The word resounded through her head and her resolve finally went firm.

"Yes, sir. I agree."

"Wonderful." Ozpin smiled. "I will expect you at Beacon for enrollment when term starts. I'm sure your sister will be more than happy to take you with her."

Ruby chuckled. Just before Ozpin turned to leave, Ruby asked a single question. "Sir? Have you met my father?"

The silence was deafening. "I have had that pleasure. After all, he attended Beacon many years ago."

Not waiting for her response, Ozpin left the room and the tapping of his cane against the floor echoed through her ears.

Shortly before a scream of delight followed it.

 _I'm going to go to Beacon! I'm gonna be a Huntress! Yes yes yes! I can't wait to tell Yang and Zwei and Uncle Qrow and Dad-_

 _Dad._ The single word echoed in her mind. _Man, Dad's gonna freak. I mean, I know he's okay with me being a Huntress and all but Beacon's a lot further away from home. He'll…_

 _He might say no._

She thought on that gloomy idea for a moment. _What if he does? What'll I do?_

 _I'd run away._

 _No! We can't do that to Dad! We'll just have to convince him. We managed to do it with the headmaster._

 _When has Dad ever changed his mind on anything?_

 _Uh…_

Ruby let her thoughts wander. The door creaked open once more, revealing Jaune in full battle armour. _He seems… different._

"So, the Professor tells me you're going to Beacon." His face betrayed no emotion.

"Yeah." Ruby said.

"You got in early."

"Yeah."

Jaune stared at her, his face a blank mask even as he slammed his hands on the table. "That… is great news!" He broke out into a smile.

"Huh?"

"I mean, yeah, it means you're now on my team and I've finally got another member to work with that has your abilities but I'm all for more Huntsmen! Used to be a big fan of them a while back. You read 'Vale Hunting?'"

"Kinda… Been thinking about changing."

"Oh. Okay. Sorry about before. It's been a long year. Lots of civilian Marvels who don't want to get involved. I was just happy to see a Huntress with it."

"Why do you call us that? 'Marvels?'"

"Eh…" Jaune held out a hand and waved it from side to side. "It's a long story. Simply put, we wanted a word to describe people with gifts like yours. The more common 'freaks', 'monsters' and 'Grimm-born' were less neutral than what we wanted."

"Oh." They sat and stood in silence.

"Can I ask you something?"

Ruby shrugged. "Sure. Can we get out of this room first?"

"What? Oh, sure sure." Jaune opened the door and the two walked side by side down the hall.

"How'd you get the scythe?" Jaune asked.

Ruby's eyes gleamed with pride. "I made her. Took me days of tinkering and working on her to get her just right." She flicked out the closed form from behind her back and began to stroke it tenderly.

Jaune laughed a little. "Right… So what're you going to tell your dad?"

"You heard."

"Fair's fair." He raised an eyebrow and smirked a little.

Ruby put Cresent Rose behind her back and sighed heavily. "I don't know. I think he'd be okay with me going to Beacon but…"

"But?"

"He doesn't know about my speed thing." Ruby closed her eyes and paused. "I'm not sure how'd he'd react. I mean, when he's teaching he's always emphasising "standing on your skills not your Semblance" and that sort of thing. I don't think he'd take it very well."

"And the rest? The whole 'kicking people in the face' deal?"

"He'll be fine with that." Ruby opened her eyes and waved off Jaune's concerned tone. "He'd be proud actually."

"Heh. Sounds pretty nice."

Ruby seized on the odd tone of Jaune's voice. "So where are your parents?"

Jaune abruptly stopped. Ruby took a good few steps before noticing.

"Jaune?"

"They're… Hunting." He said, that same tone of voice penetrating his words.

"Oh." The pause hung in the air. "So how long have you been doing this?"

The change in his stance was obvious. From tense and guarded, Jaune instantly smiled. "Oh, just over a year. Been all over the world talking to people just like you."

"And none of them wanted to join up?"

Jaune's face fell in sadness. "Well, there was one. But she- she had other ideas. Her father interrupted us in the middle of my recruitment speech." He laughed half heartedly. "It wasn't pretty. Took a lot out of me. Nearly got some good people killed." He stroked his jaw before stopping at another door. "This is you. There's a bulkhead ready to take you home. Hopefully, I'll see you soon." He walked away back down the corridor, his boots clunking against the hard floor.

 _Weird…_ Ruby thought. _But I can't worry about that now._

 _All I have to worry about now is Dad._

 _Oh boy._

* * *

 **(Rwyfan5** : Still awesome three months after opening. _  
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	3. Chapter 3

" _ **Journal Entry:**_ _I've done it. Finally._

 _It doesn't matter that I can't publish the results. It doesn't matter that no-one wanted anything to do with my work._

 _I've done it. Ten years and numerous… less than legal events have led to me to solid evidence of my theories._

 _The Aura enhancement theory that the fool Dove is peddling is useless in the long run. Even though it presents some interesting opportunities for creating Hunters and Huntresses, it is ridiculous to expect the common soldier or civilian to fight against the Grimm._

 _So why not boost the Hunters and Huntresses we already have?_

 _Instead of trying to beat the Grimm with sheer numbers, an area they seem to have a disquieting advantage in, why not enhance the powers of those who are sworn to the duty?_

 _I have long imagined to see the powers that might be brought out if we could simply refine and enhance the Hunters and Huntresses we have. It was worth it to get this far._

 _It'll be worth it to see it finally end."_

 _From the Journal of Doctor Nikos._

* * *

 _Strike._ She thought. _Let the Aura flow through you._

A rapid series of punches followed. Each strike brutal in its accuracy.

 _Keep moving. Stay light._

She dashed around the battlefield, her fists crunching into any opponent she could see.

 _Punch, fire, backflip!_

With a spiraling leap, she sprung into the air and crashed into the ground. A classic three point landing cracked the ground into elegant patterns of destruction.

 _Hell yeah._ She thought. _I'm awesome._

She flexed her shoulders, letting the powerful lean muscles in them strain just enough to loosen, before walking into the house.

 _Home._ She reminded herself.

She thought about how little it had changed over the years. The wooden exterior hadn't changed much since she was young. A few more scratches here and there across the base along with a few new panels and logs were all that she could see. The chimney occasionally sent up a puff of old smoke as she pushed the door open.

Only to have it ripped from her hands and a red rose blur to dash past her.

"Ruby!" She cried out. She felt her Aura flare in response to her words. A split second before she dashed after her younger sister, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Leave her be." Dad said. "She'll be back."

She nodded uncertainly. "But Dad…"

"C'mon." He waved her inside. "I'm sure you're curious."

She walked in, following her father into the kitchen. The clean surfaces were seemingly at odds with the more rustic walls. A quick grab for the fridge and she sat down at the table with her customary post training drink.

 _Mmmmmm… Cool lemonade…_

"What happened, Dad?" She said, gently sipping her drink.

"I take it you heard the news?"

"No…" _Oh no. What happened?_

"Well, Yang…" Dad paused. Taking a sip of his drink, he continued. "Ruby got accepted into Beacon."

"What, like in two years? That's amazing! Ruby's gonna kick all kinds of-"

"For this year of training."

"That's even better!" Yang felt her heart surge with pride. "How'd she pull that off!"

"She won't tell me." Dad's face crinkled in worry. "She just came home all excited and everything. I later got the call on my scroll from Professor Ozpin about it and…"

"And?" Yang could feel the uncertainty in her father's posture. His body seemed to curl in on itself before he spoke again.

"Kiddo, I've known Oz for years now." He said. There was no pride in his voice. It was simply a statement of fact. "I've worked with him enough to know when something isn't quite right."

"You think the Headmaster is lying to you? Why would he do that?"

Dad sighed. "He's not lying. That much I know. He's definitely accepted Ruby into Beacon and it is because of her combat skills." He looked at her right in the eyes. "Nice work on that by the way."

"Thanks…" Yang smiled as she sipped her lemonade again.

"But there's something else. Like he's not telling me something really important. When Ruby told me the news, I was ecstatic. But after that call…" Dad shrugged. "I told Ruby I was worried about her attending Beacon so early. She took it- Well, you saw how she took it."

"Dad." Yang said, standing up. "Did you say anything else to Ruby?"

He at least had the decency to look a little regretful as he spoke. "I may have said that I didn't want her attending."

"Dad!"

"What was I supposed to say?" His chest puffed out as it always did when he was angry. "It's a big step up from Signal to Beacon. And this whole thing with Oz just has me all tense. Would you want Ruby going without knowing she'd be completely safe?"

"Well, what about me?"

"You're two years older, Yang." He said, his tone the same. "You've also had to go through the tests for Beacon. You know how hard it is firsthand. Ruby doesn't."

"But then why would you let her be a Huntress in the first place?!" She shouted back. "All Ruby wants to do is be a Huntress. It's all she talks about and now you suddenly decide to take that away from her?"

"She can attend in two years. That's two more years of training and guidance Qrow and I can give her before then."

"But she can attend **now**." Yang said, drawing out the last word. "You've done enough!"

"I can't be sure of that. Besides, I still don't know how she got in. I've been talking with my contacts across the kingdom and none of them can give me any leads either." Dad folded his arms.

 _Oh no._ Yang thought. _He's gonna try and end this with the 'dad' stance._

"I don't want this to turn into some big thing that ends up splitting this family apart." The faint sadness in his tone extended into his eyes just before he blinked it out.

"Then let her go!"

"And then what? Send her, two years early, to an academy with a headmaster who seems to have a very personal interest in her? What if he just needs to fill a quota? He sees a bright young girl from a nearby academy and thinks 'Hmmm, yes, she'll do' and plucks her into a world of death and monsters?!" Dad's hands were at his sides, his fists clenched. "You don't know how dangerous it could be. Ozpin could push her so hard that she breaks!"

Yang paused for a second, her anger halted but not forgotten. "Well, what if she succeeds? What if she's the greatest? You've seen her fight-"

"I've seen her spar, kid." Dad huffed. "There's a difference. Yes," He held out a hand to forestall Yang's next point. "I heard all about her taking on that pack of Beowolves a few months ago. It was all over the town. I'm not denying her skill, I'm just saying that I'd be more comfortable if she had more time to really improve it. Make sure she's really ready."

"She is ready, Dad!" Yang folded her arms. "God, she's been working so hard and you're being a real ass."

"I just want my girls to be safe!"

"Then let her attend Beacon!" Yang shouted again. "It's a fortress, there are dozens of Hunters and Huntresses that can help her if she gets into trouble and, most importantly, I'll be there!" She took a step forward, glaring at her father. "You really think I'd just sit back and watch as Ruby struggles?!"

The two stood across from one another, their anger and energy spent. Dad sighed once more before putting his head in his hands.

"This means that much to you?" He said, breaking the silence.

"Yes." Yang said. "It means even more to Ruby."

"And you'd be willing to watch over your sister the entire time you're there?"

"As much as I can. I mean, I'm not gonna spy on Rubes in the shower-"

"Okay! Okay." Dad nodded. "I get the idea."

Yang just smiled devilishly. _Oh yeah! Yang Xiao Long, master debater! Heh.._

"I've got one condition."

 _Damn it._

"Dad…" Yang started to growl.

Dad held up his hands in surrender. "Hey now. It's not for Ruby. It's for you."

 _What?_ "What?" Yang looked warily at her father. _Man, what's the catch gonna be?_

"I want you to find out how she got accepted."

"But you said the Headmaster-"

"Oz is hiding something, I know it." Dad stated with absolute certainty. "He's got Ruby to keep quiet about it. I just want you to get the real story from Ruby."

"And if I don't?"

Dad sighed again. "Once you're there, there's not much I can do. I mean, I could send Zwei to try and get it out of her…"

"Zwei would never do something like that! He's a good dog." Yang joked.

"Listen, kiddo, it'd really set my mind at ease. I don't want to be sitting at home, worrying my butt off all day." Dad smiled at her. "Besides, if anyone can get Ruby to talk, it's you."

Yang looked away. Her eyes drifted slowly to one side as she thought about it.

 _Is this really okay? Professor Ozpin wouldn't keep secrets for no good reason._

 _True… But I am a little curious as to how she got in._

 _Is that worth trying to get our sister to break her promises?_

 _Do you think Dad'll agree if we say no?_

Yang turned back to her father. "Alright, Dad. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, sweetie." He drew her into a tight hug. "I knew I could count on you."

"Well," Yang said, muffled by her head in her dad's chest. "As long as you let Ruby go to Beacon, I guess a little spy stuff isn't too bad."

Dad chuckled. "Do you want to go out and tell her the good news?"

Yang nodded and walked out the front door.

 _I know exactly where she'll be._

* * *

 _It's still so calm here._

The red blossoms drifted around Yang as she stepped into the clearing. The gentle wind never seemed to change as she stepped towards Ruby. Standing in front of a familiar gravestone, Yang could see the streaks of wetness running down her face. The gentle pink colour in her eyes told Yang all she needed to know.

"Hey, Yang." Ruby said, her voice a mix of energetic and tearful. "Come to bring me home?"

Yang hugged Ruby tightly. "Yes… But I have good news for you first."

"We're having cookies?" Ruby chuckled awkwardly.

"Better."

"What's better than cookies?"

"What about Beacon?"

Ruby pulled out of the hug and looked curiously at Yang. "You mean…"

"Yep!" Yang smiled. "Your big sis here managed to convince Dad to change his mind." Her smile became a grin. "Let me tell you, it wasn't easy. First, I had to go on a long journey and find seven ancient artifacts to prove my worthiness before I could even-"

Ruby just leapt at Yang with her arms engulfing Yang as much as they could. "Thank you." Ruby whispered. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Yang dropped the bravado quickly. "Hey, now, what are big sisters for?" She hugged back. "C'mon. We'd best get back home. We've got so much to celebrate!"

"Yeah!" The energy Ruby normally had seemed to return for a moment before it scuttled away. "Uh… You mind if I say goodbye first?"

Yang nodded. "Of course not."

Ruby walked over to the tombstone and knelt at it, whispering a few words. Yang could have listened in, even without her Aura enhancements, but decided against it.

 _She always does this._ Yang thought, smiling to herself. _I hope you can hear her, Summer. She still loves you._

 _And so do I._

"Okay." Ruby said, boots padding against the fallen blossoms. "Let's go."

The two fell into a familiar rhythm of walking side by side. With her shorter legs, Ruby stepped a little faster but Yang made sure to keep her own steps small.

 _No races this time._ Yang thought. _Just a nice simple walk._

"So." Yang said. "Why didn't you tell me about Beacon?"

Ruby flushed with embarrassment. "Well… I got home so soon after and then Dad was there and by the time I got home you were already asleep and then you went outside to train and then Dad spoke to me and I was so angry that I dashed out and I'm sorry!"

Yang poked her little sister, causing the red haired girl to spring the side in surprise. "Next time, tell me! I don't care if I'm asleep, wake me up!"

"But the last time I did that, you threatened to throw me out the window!"

"That's completely different!" Yang jokingly snapped back. "I had a test the next day! It wasn't even that important."

"New weapons are totally important! How would you feel if someone took your Ember Celica, huh?" Ruby stuck out her tongue.

Yang mirrored the move. "Nyeh, just because I don't find your clunky stick appealing doesn't mean anything. I like my weapons sleek and elegant. With shotguns." She nodded as if she were imparting some great wisdom.

"Crescent Rose is totally sleek!" Ruby snapped back, a childish look on her face. "She's more elegant that your dumb gauntlets are!" Her face morphed into a perfect mix of defiance and amusement.

"Ooooh!" Yang melodramatically sighed as her hand went up to her forehead. "Why, Miss Rose, you truly wound me so!" She chuckled.

By the time they reached the wooden lodge they called home, Yang had Ruby in a loose headlock and was gently grinding her knuckles against her head.

"Say it!"

"No!"

"I'm gonna keep giving you noogies until you say it!"

"N-No!"

"Alright!"

Noogies did indeed ensue. Dad looked on at the two girls and could only shake his head in amusement. "Let her go, Yang. I've got lunch cooking. Best you girls get inside to lay the table."

"Awww…" Yang pouted. She released Ruby from her hold and walked into the kitchen. The rich smell of stew danced across her nose as she sighed in delight.

"Stew, huh?" Yang said, grabbing the bowls from the cupboard.

"Yeah, figured we hadn't had it in a while. It'll keep 'till dinner too! Besides, we've got things to celebrate!" Dad reached up into one of the taller cupboards and pulled out a bottle of-

 _No way. How long has he been saving that?!_

"Dad, is that what I think it is?" Yang's jaw dropped at the elegantly crafted bottle Dad held in his hands.

"If you think it's a bottle of Royal Mistrali Reserve, then yes, yes it is." Dad's grin stretched from ear to ear.

Time passed quickly. The family sat around the table, chatting and laughing as they normally did. As Dad cleared away the bowls to the sink, Yang sat contented in her chair.

 _Mmmm… That was delicious._ She thought as Dad set down three glasses on the table.

"Dad?" Ruby asked.

"I've been saving this for years, waiting for the right moment to open it." He placed the bottle of wine on the table with utmost care. "Never could seem to find it. I figure both my girls getting into Beacon is as good a reason as any, wouldn't you say?"

"But that must have cost thousands of lien!" Ruby protested. Yang could only stare hungrily at the bottle.

"I've got enough tucked away for the occasional treat now and then." Dad shrugged. "It's also my way of an apology." He looked Ruby in the eye and said "I'm sorry, kiddo. I just wanted to keep you safe." He held out his arms for a hug and Ruby leapt into them with blinding speed.

Yang, capitalizing on the distraction, quickly pulled the cork out of the bottle with sheer brute strength and poured out a small measure of the expensive wine into each glass.

"To Beacon!" She toasted.

"To Beacon!" The other two joined in.

* * *

The airship was incredibly long and yet surprisingly sparse when it came to people. The great glass windows let Yang look out over her future home for the next few years. The great spire of Beacon stood tall and proud as it jutted out of the surrounding countryside like a spear. The city of Vale, no more than ten minutes walk away, sprawled out towards the mountains.

 _It's gonna be good. I've got my little sister with me and we're attending Beacon Academy._

 _Yeah._ Some corner of her mind provided. _And all you have to do is get your sister to break a promise and share a secret that even Dad couldn't pull out of her._

 _So? She gets to come with me! We get to kick butt as sisters. Besides, it's not like it's gonna be difficult. Ruby's never been able to hide anything from me._

She felt a low rumble below her and felt her stomach lurch in response.

The flames were calling to her. The intense energies that were being summoned into the world beneath her to make this mighty piece of metal fly stretched out to her senses.

 _No… Not now!_

She took a deep breath, letting her control sweep over her.

 _I will not. This will not happen._

That same rumble. Her whole chest seemed to tighten in response.

 _I will not! This will not happen!_

She could feel the sparks lapping at her fists. The rush of power, so different and so much more alive than her Aura, sang to her.

 _NO!_ She cried within herself.

The fire died down. Her body released the tension with the only outside indication being Yang;s slight gasp of freedom.

 _That was too close._ She thought, looking around for any stray fires or exploded fire Dust lamps. _I've just got to keep it under control. No flare ups._

 _Not like what happened at the Bar._

The airship hummed along steadily as Yang synchronised her breaths to the gentle hum of the engines.

 _I will not._ She focused on her little control phrase. _This will not happen._

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

" _It's incredible. It amazes me that no-one before me has actually put any serious scientific effort into finding out about them. Certainly, there were rumours and myths that flittered about like so many butterflies. The sheer number and variation of the abilities these people possess… It boggles my mind._

 _Sadly, it is also the hardest part of this endeavour._

 _There is no single containment facility that can contain these marvels, these wondrous people. One has the power of invisibility and almost made it out before she brushed past a guard and the security lock down engaged. Another possessed some limited suggestion ability and would have killed several men and women had the automated systems not knocked everyone unconscious._

 _There are around twenty to thirty powered individuals currently residing here. Their abilities noted, documented and classified. Their cells adjusted and adapted as much as possible. Their lives made comfortable as they can be._

 _Each day, my benefactors bring in one or two more._

 _Each day, I learn in leaps and bounds."_

 _From the Recovered Pages of Professor Argen's Journal_

* * *

 _The rumble of the engines is barely noticeable here._ She thought to herself. _I wonder how long it'll be before we get there._

She stretched her shoulders before she began pacing around. Her heels clacked against the heavy metal. Her hands drifted across the hilt of her faithful companion, Myrtenaster. The chamber of Dust glowed gently in response.

A small pulse of power flickered through her wrist before she pulled her hand away as if she'd been burned.

 _Damn it._ She cursed internally, letting the rush of energy flow out of her wrist. _This was under control._

Taking a deep breath, she looked around her room for anything that she could distract herself with. The impeccably immaculate walls of her personal bunk provided little distraction. Her bed, clad in fine white silk, was just as bland and boring.

 _Come on…_ She thought. _There has to be something._

Her eyes darted over the family portrait that held pride of place next to her bed. With utmost precision, she began analyzing and cataloguing every little detail. The pulsing power within her drifted about like an indecisive predator uncertain about its' prey.

 _Father's stern expression. The way his eyes seem to crush into his face as he stares back at me. Mother's blank features. No real emotions in the portrait. Whitley's grin. Dripping with charm and ego. Winter-_

She stopped. _Winter._ The single name sent equal thoughts of dread and pride straight through her body, quenching the rush of energy that had just before coursed through her.

 _She's still in Atlas. Still working for the military. I wonder how she is?_

She thought back to her home letting the memories of Winter and their secret games together wash over her. The large palace seemingly carved out of the very frost itself was now nearly several days travel away.

 _Worse than that, Whitley's at home._ Weiss sighed. _I hope Mother puts him in his place. Father…_

She paused at her own traitorous thoughts. _Father wants what's best. He might have resisted this at first but he came around in the end._

 _Of course._ Her internal monologue snarked. _Father changed his mind. Because Jacques Schnee is well known for changing his mind._

 _What other reason could he have to put me here?_

 _He thinks I'll fail._ The thought hit like a thrown brick. _He's indulging us, thinking we'll come back home full of tears. Like he did with Winter._

 _No. Father believes in me. He wants me to succeed!_

 _He wants the Schnee name to succeed. Just look at what he's done with the company over the last few years. All those investments…_

 _That's just-_

"Miss Schnee." The crackling voice came over the tannoy, shaking her out of her thoughts. "We'll be landing at Beacon Academy with five minutes. We'll have your suitcases unloaded and then we have to get back to Atlas."

She clacked over to her reciever and gently spoke into it. "Thank you, pilot."

Her hologram projector, pristine on her desk, flicked to life. The image of a middle aged woman in a typical teachers' blouse and skirt along with a mid length tendril cape stood tall above it. The image barely shifted even at this altitude.

"Welcome to Beacon Airspace." The woman said. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You have all been selected for your capabilities as Hunters and Huntresses."

 _But of course._ Weiss thought.

"But the Hunting of Grimm shall not be the entirety of what you learn here. Among other subjects such as world history, geography and Aura combat, the main goal of this Academy is to create bonds that will last a lifetime. To establish clear relationships with your assigned teams that will allow you to not only fight the Grimm but also survive the hardships of Remnant.

"You are no longer a lone figure, standing guard in the darkness. You are now part of a shining light, generations strong, that defends the long lasting peace the world now enjoys. May this message find you well and I wish you the best on your lifelong journey. It begins here."

The message blinked off as Weiss considered the words she'd just heard.

 _Well, that was a good reading from a pamphlet._ Weiss sneered. _A truly excellent example of saying very little while selling a product. Daddy's people could learn a lot from that woman._

The energy within her, so distant from her Aura, danced in response. Almost as if it thought she was being amusing.

 _Ugh. The sooner we land, the better. I need fresh air._

Weiss Schnee did not have to wait long before she felt the heavy shift of landing gears underneath her feet. With a single thought spared for her sister, she walked out of her room and onto the great ramp leading to her future.

Her eyes adjusted to the bright midday sun as she squinted towards the high tower of her new home. The great spire of Beacon stabbed out of the ground like the mountains that surrounded it. The steel majesty of it nearly took Weiss' breath away before she stepped out onto the concrete landing zone.

"Miss Schnee, please get clear." The pilot said through external speakers, his words shaking Weiss out of her thoughts for a second time. His voice crackled to life once more. "Your bags are with your butlers. We'll be back around to pick them up in two days. Your father says that, should you wish to change your mind, we are to take you with us."

The engines roared to life as Weiss stepped fully out of the landing zone. The boom of takeoff all but deafened the heiress.

 _Two days. Like I'll need it._

She walked over to the her baggage, checking to make sure it was all there. Picking up her personal box of Dust, she opened it up to find the colourful samples all staring back up at her like a gleaming rainbow of energy.

That rush of power hit her stomach again as she did.

 _Breathe. It's just Dust. You've been around it enough. Just breathe._

"Miss Schnee." Her servant said. _What was his name again? Oh, he's too new. Why can't Father ever keep anyone around?_ "Will you be needing anything from your bags?"

She shook her head in a gentle side to side motion, not letting her thoughts show through. "No, thank you." _I'm sure it was something like Maron or Blau…_ "How much time do we have before orientation?"

"About half an hour." The hefty man replied, his hands clutching the trolley full of luggage of every imaginable size. "We'd best get moving."

Weiss nodded. _Ros? Bleuman? Something like that._ Taking her clear position at the head of her little group, Weiss paraded up the long path leading to the main building of Beacon.

The gear motif etched into the very stone of the place was at odds with the chaotic whirlwind of people shifting around the wide open courtyard. The circle of two tone concrete was rushed with new students and old, all mixing together in a haze of school uniforms and deadly weaponry. The individualised Hunting outfits, ranging from the simple t-shirt and combat trousers combo to the excessively elaborate of a headdress of all things, created a rich visual tapestry of colour and movement.

Weiss cut through it like an arrow through paper.

 _Yes. Move out of my way. You all know who I am. My day shouldn't have to stop because of any of you._

She could overhear voices in the crowd; faint snatches of conversation that died faster than a civilian in the wilderness as she approached.

"-that Wei-".

"I thought she was at-"

"-so many weapons!-"

"-Catch her last concer-"

" -with that man jumping out of the crowd-"

Weiss refused to let her imperious gaze falter for an instant. Her thoughts, however, were not so forgiving.

 _That stupid man. He should have known about the forcefield._ Internally, she shook her head. _And then to have the gall to ask that question! Hmpf!_

She stalked through the crowds, easily finding a large enough space to finally fully appreciate the majesty of her new home.

 _Yes, Beacon is certainly built for someone like me. I can only imag-_

 **WHAM.**

The concrete ground filled her vision only momentarily before she rose up to her feet. Her Aura flared slightly as she turned to face her accidental attacker lying on the ground.

 _Red hair at the tips, black everywhere else. Combat skirt, high impact sniper dual form weapon on her back. Black and red colour theme throughout her uniform. Complete klutz._

 _Conclusion._ Her mind spat out an answer. _Huntress wannabe. Probably snuck on the public airship._

While her thoughts were cooler than an Atlesian snow cone in Winter, her actions were all fire.

"You idiot!" She shouted. She leaned down and checked her case again, now splayed over the courtyard. _Still good._ "Didn't you look where you were going!"

Her power pulsed again, hitting her hand like a lightning bolt.

The other girl mumbled. "Sorry-"

"Don't apologise! Just be better!" Weiss huffed. "Do you even know what's in these cases?" Not waiting for a reply from the clearly incompetent girl before snatching up a vial of fire Dust, Weiss steamrollered on. "Do you know what this is?"

"It's-"

"It's Dust! Highly concentrated Dust mined from the Schnee Dust Company mines! It's traveled over two continents and it nearly exploded everywhere because of you!"

"What's the Schnee Dust-"

"Ugh!" Weiss cried out to the heavens. "You complete moron! It's only the-"

"It's the biggest producer and refiner of Dust across the Kingdoms with a main base in Atlas." A small voice cut across her. "Smaller subsidiaries can be found in almost any town."

 _Finally, an intelligent human being._

"Doesn't excuse the fact that they exploit their workers and treat them like slaves though."

"What?!" Weiss turned to face the new threat to her family name and pride. A tall, raven haired girl stood proud as she idly twiddled the vial of Dust between her fingers.

"The reason for those low, low Dust prices is that the SDC pay their workers a pittance."

"It's a fair wage." Weiss retorted.

"Sure it is. Fair for about a hundred years ago."

"There are a lot of people who want to work for the SDC! The other benefits alone-"

"What other benefits?" The girl raised a single elegant eyebrow in disbelief. She stepped slowly towards Weiss, staring her down. "Workers live in squalor, they have to buy food straight from SDC subsidiaries and markets, they have no health care to speak of outside 'don't get sick or lose your job' and they can't even have any sort of personal items!"

"Workers at the SDC main office have excellent health care!"

"And what about the miners?"

"Who cares about them? We were talking about workers, not labourers." _It's obviously going to be different for them._

"So you don't care about the Faunus miners? Who come home with frostbite from mining ice Dust or cracked bones when an earth Dust shaft collapses on them?"

"Like I said," Weiss explained as if to a five year old. "We're not talking about labourers! The people in those mines knew what they were getting into."

A flash of Aura made her reach for Myrtenaster. The golden gleam of those eyes became almost uncomfortably close. "They have no other choice. In Atlas, the only choices those people have is to work in the SDC mines or turn to crime. Damned if they do, damned if they don't."

"But-"

"And that's not even speaking about Mistral. Faunus may be treated with at least a little respect but they still can't hold any jobs in Court or any sort of government job without at least a generation of 'proven service' to a high ranking family. And once that happens, the Faunus family become trapped in debt towards them!"

Weiss desperately tried to speak, to defend her good family name, but then-

 _No. No, not now. Not here._

That rush of power and energy seemed to latch onto the Dust in the girl's hand. To Weiss' eyes, it seemed to pulse in tune with her heartbeat.

 _Set me free…_ It seemed to say. _Let me out…_

She closed her eyes in a last ditch effort of control. "Put the Dust down."

"Why should I?"

"Put the Dust down now!" She shouted, channeling her new energy straight into her voice. The black haired girl shrugged and walked off without a care.

 _Like I didn't matter._

The vial continued to pulse. Faster and faster, it beat like a manic drummer until finally-

 **BOOM.**

Weiss dived out of the way as did both of the infuriating girls she'd met.

 _This crater is deeper than the last one._ Weiss thought, her eyes scanning the area for any potential injured.

"Are you okay!" The red and black girl sprinted over. "Oh my gosh what happened?!"

"Dust explosion." Her servant came up behind her having finally made his way through the crowds that had formed around her. "Miss Schnee, are you alright?"

"Fine, fine. Was anybody else hurt?"

"No, miss. It would seem it was only the architecture that sustained any damage."

"Good." The energy faded even as the stares latched on to her. "Good."

She turned to face the black and red girl. "That's what could have happened to you."

She walked away from her failure, silently gesturing to her servants to keep up as she walked towards the massive gates of Beacon. Her heels clacked against the concrete ground.

 _Stupid. Weak. Why didn't you contain it! You had more than enough time!_

She continued thinking in this vein until her servants caught up.

"Are you feeling alright, Miss Schnee?" The man's face was full of concern. "You seem tense."

"It was nothing. Just a couple of fools thinking they knew better."

"Ah." The pause hung between them. "If you don't mind my asking, miss, what happened?"

"A girl bumped into me and another began spouting lies against the SDC for no reason! I can't believe she would just do that!"

"Was she one of those 'Faunus Rights Activists' that have been making trouble recently?"

"I don't know. But she knew far too much. Is there any chance of getting information on her? In case she comes after me on the school grounds again?"

"I-" Another pause. "I will ask your father. What about the one who bumped into you? Should I also put in a request for a data mine on her also?"

"No, no." She waved her hand easily. "Being an uncoordinated fool isn't a crime. Spreading malicious and stupid lies, however…" She tensed her shoulders as she walked ever closer to the main building.

"Of course, Miss Schnee." The man bowed his head. "I managed to pick up your suitcase before you got too far ahead." He held out the elegant case before him as if making an offering to an angry tigress.

Weiss snatched it out of his hands and proceeded to grip it tight. "Thank you. If you could put my baggage… wherever it needs to go. I'm going to go inside."

"Miss Schnee-"

She walked ahead, stomping her feet and grinding them into the ground. Her thoughts flurried around her mind.

 _Ugh! My first day, my first impression, ruined by those two morons! The one in red can't even stand on her own two feet!_

 _And that black haired girl._ The thoughts burned with righteous anger. _Thinking she knows anything about the workers in the SDC facilities! Sure, the mining staff and labourers might not be as well paid but they don't have the skills worth paying much for! It's simple business sense!_

She took a deep breath. Her tension flowed through her body, winding around her muscles and stretching across her bones like rusted iron springs.

 _I will not let this affect me._ She resolved. _I still have my name. Most of the people here will probably blame the other girl. My outburst will probably be considered simple nerves after an explosion. All perfectly explainable. Nothing Father can use to bring me home._

 _He'll still try though._ Her mind provided for her. _He'll ring and ask how we're doing and then capitalize on anything he can get._

 _Then I must not falter. I worked too hard to make it to this point. The years of training, the Grimm golem construct, the concert-_

 _No. Stop thinking about that. He didn't help me. He held out an empty promise and then immediately had it proved false. All that talk of control and 'using the proper mindset…'_

 _All useless when it mattered._

She took another deep breath, resting her hand gently on Myrtenaster and forcing her Aura to flow through her.

 _I have my power. I have my strength. "By the howling winds, I let you fly…"_

Another deep breath. The doors of Beacon loomed tall in front of her. The iron working on them provided a small distraction.

 _I have my power. I have my strength._

 _I don't need anything else._

As she stepped through, that same unfamiliar energy surged through her in quick little pulses.

Almost as if it were laughing at her.

* * *

( **rwbyfan5:** Still Betaing this for reasons unknown.)

Many thanks to all the readers! Special shout out to **matthewmccall66** for being the first to favourite this story!

Until next time!)


	5. Chapter 5

" _ **Day Five:**_ _I've been without sleep for coming up to forty hours now. I can't stop. I can't fall asleep. Not now._

 _I don't know how it came to me. I was sitting down, scrolling through the latest projects that are circulating through the building's internal systems and it hit me like an Ursa._

 _I've finished my last few patches on project designation 3-V8 Alpha. One of the cornerstones of the goliath structure that is the LMD project._

 _In just under two days I have managed to make more progress on the Electronic Virtual Assistant (or EVA. Yes, I gave the world's first proper artificial intelligence a name. And?) than I had over two years with an entire team behind me._

 _I'd never thought I'd hear EVA speak. The project was scrapped for being "too cost intensive" and the entire team felt they were on the cusp of cracking the issues that plagued the Voice Activated Control Systems. (See Project Designation: M0-R1.) I practically broke down at the station when she listed off the plans for the next few weeks in flawless, elegant sentences._

 _Fully artificial. No human mind there at all. All the result of two days' work. (Well, two years but the real progress was made_ _ **now.**_ _Who's going to care, though?)_

 _And, I must say, it's one hell of a voice. I don't remember how I managed to program that in…_

 _I'm not complaining, that's for sure."_

 _From the Project LMD Notes of Professor Polendina._

* * *

"I can't believe you tried to ditch me!" Ruby cried out, waving her arms angrily in the air at her sister.

"Hey, c'mon! You need to make friends just like I did! Don't get all shouty about it!"

"If I'd been a second slower, you'd have run off with that crowd and left me alone!"

"You say that like it's a bad thing…"

"It IS a bad thing! People were already staring when we got off the bulkhead. How do you think they're gonna react when I have to make conversation?!"

Yang just laughed. "Well, you could always ask about their weapons! 'Oh my, that's a big rifle you have there. I hope it doesn't go off…'"

"Yaaaaaaang! Ewwwwww!" Ruby batted at her sister once again as they both stepped through the looming doors to Beacon's grand hall.

"Stark" was the first word that came to mind when Ruby looked at the domed ceiling and wide open space. The rush of teenage voices and bodies awkwardly navigating towards empty spaces in an intricate dance of humanity were a barrage to the senses. Clanking and hard stomps occasionally punctuated the air as heavy armoured individuals shifted their weight towards potentially friendly faces. Off in one corner a few muscle bound fools stretched and shifted, parading their detailed forms to all who would watch.

"Ugh. So obvious. Any moron can just show off…" With a single flick of her hair and subtle emphasis on her frame, Yang turned towards the crowd of onlookers.

The crowd froze slowly, as if a creeping chill had passed over the group as they stared at the tableaux of beauty. From the back, a faint "damn…" could be heard.

"Okay! Point proven. Let's go." Yang dragged her little sister away from the crowd of admirers.

"Why'd you do that?"

"You heard the message on the way over, right?" Yang said. "We're here to 'make bonds that will last a lifetime.' I thought I'd just get a head start."

"I don't think any of those people were thinking about a lifetime. Maybe a night or two…" Ruby muttered.

Yang stared at her sister for a brief second stunned. "You…"

Ruby took a step away, feeling her Aura pool into her legs for a quick escape.

Then Yang started laughing.

 _That's not good. I'm doomed._

"Awww, baby sis! That wasn't half bad!" Yang patted Ruby's hair and gave it a gentle ruffle. "Now, onto more important things. How'd you get in here so early?"

Ruby sighed. "We've been over this…"

"I know, I know! But if you can't trust your big sis, who can you trust?"

"Yang… You know I can't. Professor Ozpin said-"

"Yeah, yeah. 'Professor Ozpin said I couldn't say anything under pain of death, torture and cookie deprivation.' I got the point. But he doesn't have to know…"

Ruby shrugged. "I'm not gonna risk it. Why are you so curious anyway?" She paused and her eyes widened. "Dad!"

"What! No! Of course not. How could you think such a thing!" Yang obviously lied.

"He knows how important this is to me. He knows I've gotta keep this a secret. And now he's roped you into his spy games!"

"He just wants to make sure you're okay. After all, it is a little weird-"

"Yeah! And so am I! I get to come to Beacon and fight Grimm and be a Huntress because I'm weird! That enough for you?"

Yang held up her hands in defeat. "Okay. I won't push it any further. But you know you can tell me anything right?"

In response, Ruby just gave her sister a hug.

 _Not everything._ Thought the little redhead. _Not just yet._

A little squeeze and the sisters separated in time to hear something shouted from across the hall.

* * *

"You complete and utter bumbling excuse for a human being!" Weiss screamed. "Why are you here? Are you following me? Do I have to call whatever amounts to security in this place!?"

She stared at the boy across from her. His hair was still in that same pointlessly messy style he'd had six months ago. His arms were folded close to his chest as if they could protect him from her words as his armour hung uselessly on his broad frame.

"Do you have any idea what you caused when you pulled your little stunt? I had to sit down with my father for weeks just to get him to agree to let me come here and even then I still had go through some asinine test!" She took a step towards him, her eyes glaring up at him with piercing intensity. A single finger poke stabbed into his chest, forcing him to step back. "And now you're here! Why?!"

"I-"

"It doesn't matter! Just get out of here!"

"I'm a student here, Weiss-"

"That's Miss Schnee to you." Weiss seethed. "You harassed me in front of a crowd of fans, broke a million lien forcefield with your light show stunt and forced me to fight a Geist Grimm because of your actions!"

"I had no idea about that last part, if you would just quiet down-"

"I will not." Her voice as imperious as her stance, Weiss ploughed on letting her emotions and resentment flow freely. "You are a fool and a clumsy fool at that. I can't believe-"

"Is everything alright here?" A lyrical voice cut through Weiss' cacophony. She turned her head towards the new voice, ready to unload her anger at it, when she actually noticed who it was.

Everyone knew her, at least anyone with any knowledge of the Mistral tournament scene. She'd followed this girl's performance eagerly for weeks on end, watching every move and analysing every battle. The skill, the grace and the sheer indomitability of her had been all that had kept her working towards her dream of being a Huntress. The Lionheart, the newly dubbed "Invincible Girl" after her fourth straight win, was walking over to her in her new battle gear.

She did not look too happy.

"O-oh!" Weiss stammered before recovering her composure. "Oh, nothing really. Just… informing this man of his proper place, which isn't here."

The Invincible Girl stared flatly back. "And where is it, then?"

Weiss shrugged casually. "Anywhere else. Perhaps a village in the Outlier Regions is missing its idiot."

Weiss ignored the slight raising of the Lionheart's shoulders and turned back to face her original target. "See, now, she's a real Huntress. Graceful, elegant, and all the things you're not. Do you really think you belong in the same building as someone like her?"

She watched with satisfaction as something changed in the boy's eyes. Whereas before they had held a spark of indignation or anger, that potential fire had died down into dull resignation. He looked at her, sadly she thought, before turning back and walking off into the crowd that had formed around her.

"Good." Weiss nodded. "If he can't handle the simple truth-"

"What was the point of that?" The Lionheart asked. Weiss turned around.

 _Okay, Weiss. Just keep it calm and don't freak out. She'll probably act like I do when it comes to fans._

"The point? He was the cause of several inconveniences in my life recently. He had to realise the consequences of his actions."

"And that gives you the right to try and bring him down? To abuse him in front of all these people?"

"And what should I have done? Just let him get away with it?"

"He did nothing wrong, Miss Schnee." The tone abruptly shifted from flat to angry in those words. "I saw the footage from your concert. You and your company might have missed it but he took a bullet meant for you that day."

"The least he could do, seeing as it was his fault that man shot at me."

"You really think that don't you." A statement of fact tempered with anger. "You really believe that. You spoiled brat. He risked everything for you." The Lionheart took a step forward and loomed slightly over Weiss. "He didn't have to do anything. He could have just sat there and waited in the middle of that concert. Watched as a bullet pierced your chest through your Aura without a single care. But no, he decides to help. And you have the ego to call it 'the least he could do?'"

"Now-"

"No." Her words cut through the air like her spear had done so many times in the tournament. "He saved you, Miss Schnee. Whether you want to accept it or not, you would not be standing here today without him."

"That did not give him the right to-"

"To what?!" Her voice was raised now as more people began to stop and stare. "What possible thing could have asked for that was so reprehensible that saving your life wasn't enough to even ask?"

 _He knew about it._ Weiss wanted to scream. _This pulsing beast that beats in my chest, that rushes through me like poison. He asked if I wanted to control it, to master it. One might as well master the Grimm._

"That bullet would not have made it past the forcefield if Mr Arc had not shut it down."

The Invincible Girl took a step forward again and leaned in to whisper something. "I highly doubt that, Miss Schnee. I've seen one of those bullets up close. I doubt that even Schnee Dust technology can stop Aura Piercing Rounds."

She leaned back. "You're lying. There's-"

"No such thing? You sure about that?" With a grim look of pity the Invincible Girl, Weiss' idol, shook her head and stalked away. The crowd quickly and eagerly parted for her even as certain members of it still clamoured for a signature.

Weiss just stood there, stock still as the crowd quickly dispersed.

"Man, Pyrrha Nikos just-"

"- totally tore her a new -"

"Can't believe she'd do that-"

"-wonder what she whispered-"

The flow of energy, so absent and removed from her Aura, began to pulse in time with her thumping heartbeat. She felt it twist and writhe within her, begging to be let go as it carved through her body.

 _No._ She thought, forcing the pulsing down to the ground. Her hands clenched, she looked around to see only a few eager onlookers. _No, not even after that. I will not use it._

The pulsing died down like a growling dog hit on the nose. She could still feel it, the power coursing through her veins with such speed, but it was far less insistent.

She tuned out the snippets of conversation around her and went to stand off to one side.

A single trickle of blood dripped gently onto the floor from her hands. It went unnoticed.

* * *

 _Well. That's one way to make an impression._

Yang stared at the retreating form of Weiss, noting the tension across her shoulders. She turned to her sister and -

 _What is she staring at?_

Following Ruby's sight line, she found it locked squarely on the other retreating form from the massive blowout that had just occurred.

Right on his butt if Yang was following her eyes correctly.

"Ruuuuby…" Yang teased. "Do you have a crush on that boy?"

Ruby flinched as if Yang had poked her. "What? Uhhh… No?"

"You do! Ruby's got a crush, Ruby's got a crush…"

"I do not! I just thought it was sad how he got shouted at. That's all!"

"Yeah, uh huh, sure. I bet it had nothing to do with his puppy dog eyes or his big, broad shoulders." Yang grinned with sisterly superiority.

"But-"

"I'm not judging! It's good to know my sister has some taste when it comes to boys. Even if they are just as shy as she is. Who knows? Maybe you'll meet him later."

Ruby stomped her foot. "Yang! I don't have a crush on him!"

"Oh, whatever will our father think? Our young fair maiden has succumbed to her base lusts and is now chasing after young men!"

Ruby poked Yang. Yang poked back.

Thus began the four hundred and twenty seventh Poke War for Sisterly Dominance. There seemed to be no end in sight until a slight tapping sound burst to life over the speakers.

"Hello, new students."

Yang ceased her barrage on Ruby's ribs and turned to face the stage. Standing tall and lean on stage, clad in his customary bottle green suit, was Professor Ozpin. He looked oddly disinterested in the crowd in front of him as he held his cane in both hands. The lights on the stage lit up, giving the headmaster an eerie look as they reflected off his glasses.

"Allow me to formally welcome you in person to the Beacon Academy. Here begins your final steps on becoming Huntsmen and going out into the world to fight Grimm. You have all decided, for whatever reasons, to join the ranks of past Huntsmen that have graduated from this academy. All I can say to you is:

Take nothing for granted."

A low murmur rumbled through the crowd at these words.

"You may have skills and abilities that place you above your peers at your prior bastions of learning but that will mean little here. Everyone around you, everyone of your fellow students, has that as well. What will set you apart from them will be your willingness to use everything at your disposal. For those of you who think that you can coast through the work load, you are sadly mistaken. We will test every possible facet of your capabilities; mental, physical, emotional."

Another murmur. Yang caught snatches of conversation that mirrored her thoughts.

"Damn, he's not screwing-"

"Big talk but he can't mean-"

"-pposed to be inspiring?-"

A single gesture from the headmaster silenced the crowd before he began speaking. "This is not an easy path you have set yourselves upon. If you succeed then you will be fighting monsters far greater than any you might have encountered before. All I can give you is this advice:

"Use everything you have. Allow nothing that you could do to become a weakness that your enemies could use against you. Everything can be a tool in your fights in the future."

He paused, presumably to let the blunt nature of his words sink in. No-one began speaking this time and he carried on.

"Now, onto some administrative business. For your first week here, you will be residing in group accommodation with your other fellow students. I would heavily suggest you use this time to get to know each other. Who knows? They could be part of your team or even your partner for the rest of your life.

"I would also advise you to get to know the grounds. Once classes officially start, there will be no tolerance for late students who aren't actively fighting off Grimm on their way to class. And yes, we will check if you try and use that as an excuse.

"Finally, if you have any concerns, I keep my door open at all times. Don't let the fact that it's at the top of the tower put you off.

"Welcome to Beacon."

The lights on stage clicked off and the Professor quickly vanished from the stage.

 _Well. That was… interesting._

The speakers crackled to life once again. "If you could all move towards the exits, there will be students ready to guide you to your accommodation."

The house lights burst up and Yang turned to talk to her sister.

Only to find her with a curious expression on her face.

"Rubes?" No response. "Hey, Ruby?"

Her sister flinched back into the room and turned to face Yang. "Oh! Yeah, hi."

"Are you alright?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah! Yeah, just… did that speech seem odd to you?"

"Kinda, yeah. But the Professor's known to be pretty odd. Wouldn't put it past him to do this sort of thing intentionally."

Ruby just shook her head. "Shall we get going?"

"Yeah, alright." They walked towards the door before Yang found herself suddenly alone. Frantically searching around for her baby sister, she found her talking with someone else.

A tall, blond teenager stood in front of Ruby. Despite the youth on his face, his frame was broad enough that he could have easily passed for someone older. A long scar dragged itself down his features as he chatted eagerly with her sister.

 _Wait, isn't he… Oh, he is!_

Ruby nodded awkwardly and Yang pumped her fist internally. _Yes! Go, Ruby!_

The boy smiled, showing off his bright teeth and proceeded to run off out the exit with a noticeable spring in his step.

Yang sidled up to her sister. "So…"

"I don't want to hear it, Yang."

"Oh c'mon! My sister talks to a boy and you expect me to just ignore it?"

"Please. He was just passing on a message. Apparently the headmaster wants to check up on me."

"Oh." Yang's smirk faded into concern. "He's not changed his mind about you, has he?"

"No! I don't think so." Ruby's eyes shifted downwards. "It'll probably just be a quick 'How's it going?' type deal."

"You mean like Uncle Qrow used to do at Signal?"

"Probably with less alcohol in the room."

"Hey, you never know…"

The sisters shared a quick smile between them.

"Be safe, yeah? Don't do anything I wouldn't."

"Yeah, okay."

Ruby dashed off, weaving through the crowd. Yang managed to keep sight of her until she finally ducked towards a group of girls.

 _Please be safe, Ruby._

* * *

 _(Betaed by **rwbyfan5.** For all your betaing needs! _

_No new favourites this time. But we now have a review! Woo! (Admittedly, it was asking about the Marvel crossover elements which aren't *that* obvious in this piece at the moment. Trust me, they should become more obvious later.)_

 _Hope you're still enjoying this! Until next time!)_


	6. Chapter 6

" _ **Journal Entry**_ _: As far as potential markets for my serum go, neither Atlas nor Vale are willing to touch it openly. I can see the various generals and military personnel lust for what I can offer but the 'political ass whipping' they'd receive for trying to buff their own Hunting Lodges without sharing their knowledge with others prevents them from accepting anything._

 _That, and the current version of the serum is eventually lethal in ninety nine cases out of a hundred._

 _A minor detail, at least one that could be worked out with further testing. I would have thought the results of test case Alpha would have been sufficient enough to change their minds._

 _As for Alpha, they remain sane for the moment. The rapid development and change of their Semblance might have left… certain impact scars upon their mind but no one can doubt their combat efficiency. Instead of a relatively meager duplication ability that left them immobile, Alpha now has the ability to shift into several different copies of himself that all act autonomously of one another! Certainly, the more aggressive copies might prove troublesome later but we're looking for fighters not goat herders! But no, Atlas and Vale refuse to see the potential such a serum might have._

 _I will endeavour to try other kingdoms in the future. Perhaps Mistral might hold brighter prospects."_

 _From the Journal of Doctor Nikos._

* * *

Ruby dashed through the crowd, her small size and agility allowing her to navigate easily. She turned a corner, just like Jaune had told her too, and found herself in a dark alleyway where she'd been told to wait.

She closed her eyes for a moment, letting her other senses expand outward as her thoughts rushed through her.

 _He was talking to me. All of those people in there, watching him, and he calls me out. Why would he do that?_

 _What better way to get you to come here? We might have agreed to help Jaune but that little fear speech pretty much forced us here. As he said, we need to make sure that we don't have any weaknesses._

 _Yeah, but it feels so weird to use it._

 _You remember the first time we used the Rose Walk? The adrenaline? The sheer panic that followed? Maybe it's like that._

 _I guess. I just don't like having to lie to Yang about it. She'd tell me if she had something like this!_

 _Yeah but Yang doesn't really hold anything back. She'd just plow on regardless. She wouldn't let something like weird speed stop her from Hunting._

It took only a couple more seconds of imagined internal debate for someone to walk round the corner. The low thumping boots combined with his slow breathing pattern told Ruby who it was before she even opened her eyes.

"Hey, Jaune."

"Hey, Ruby. You alright? Professor's speech didn't get you down, did it?"

"No, not really. Just seemed a little intense for an opening talk."

"Yeah, well, that's the Professor. He's as direct as he needs to be." Jaune paused for a second, his armor clanking against him. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yep!" Ruby gave her best smile.

"It's about your sister, isn't it." The smile dropped off her face as quickly as it had appeared. "I figured. You don't like having to lie about this do you?"

Ruby shook her head. "We tell each other everything, pretty much. It feels… wrong somehow."

Jaune sighed, his face a picture of sympathy. "It's never easy. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience here."

At Ruby's curious look, Jaune waved his hand. "I'll tell you when we get into the elevator. Actually…" He looked around. "Do you think you can find it for me? Think of it as a little test."

Ruby's face quickly shifted into puzzled mode. "You haven't lost it, have you?"

"No! At least, not since the last time. I'm just curious to see what sort of head you've got on your shoulders." He smirked frustratingly like Yang.

She let her hearing drop as she forced Aura through her sight.

 _Ugh… I hate doing this. Always feels like looking into the sun for two hours after I'm done. Bleh._

Within a couple of seconds, Ruby pointed at a section of ground and declared "There."

"How'd you know?"

"Slight indent in the ground. Also it's slightly hotter than the stones around it."

Jaune nodded approvingly. "Good work. Your file wasn't exaggerating. Now my turn to impress you. Stand on the stone."

As Ruby did so, she felt the earth move under here as she began to sink down.

"What the-"

"Just… watch." Jaune smiled again. "It'll be worth it, trust me." He stepped next to her and asked. "We've got a bit of time. You know how I said I know what it's like to lie to family?" At her nod, he continued. "It's been nearly a year and a half since I've had to. Family really didn't want me to go into Hunting at all. But it's what I wanted to do and they get small updates every now and then. Think I'm working with Prism as a research assistant all over the kingdoms."

"When was the last time you saw them?"

"Year and a half. Easier that way. Don't have to explain... this." He gestured at himself.

"That doesn't really help me. I've got Yang here with me, asking all sorts of questions and I don't know if I can keep lying about everything!"

"Then don't." Ruby looked at Jaune. "I'm serious. Tell your sister about your whole speed deal and get that off your chest."

"But-"

"'What if she think's I'm a freak? What if they look at me differently? Nobody else knows what it's like to be me!' Trust me, talk to her. Even if it's not until after you get your assignments for teams and partners, talk to her. Worst thing that happens is that she doesn't talk to you for a bit. You'll be fine."

Ruby nodded uncertainly. _Easy for him to say. He doesn't even talk to his family._ "Is this elevator meant to take so long?"

"Not nor- Ah there we go!"

Rushing into view before Ruby's eyes, behind a large piece of glass, was a massive construction of steel beams and concrete pillars. Criss crossing over one another in a lattice work, they dominated her view of the great structure of rooms and makeshift buildings. In one corner, a firing range already covered in numerous scorch marks sat right next to a series of workbenches in front of wall lined with tools and weapons of all shapes and sizes. A sparing ring, gently dusted in sand, dominated another corner along with stands for people to watch from stacked up high in an amphitheatre arrangement. Scientists, Ruby assumed from the clipboards in their hands, dashed about a third area filled with all sorts of technical gadgets and gizmos that bleeped and blooped. Before she could get a proper look at the fourth area, the elevator landed down with a dull thump.

"Yep." Jaune said. "Definitely my turn to impress."

They stepped off the platform right into the crowd of men and women swarming around.

"The space down here is relatively new." Jaune began. "While there have been caverns under Beacon since it was first created, this training area has been under construction for about the last three months. Not to brag but it's partially down to me that they're down here. And down to you, I suppose, in a roundabout way."

"What? But I only agreed to join a few weeks ago!"

"Well, people like you. I made the case to the Professor that if we did find any Marvels at Beacon or any other academy then we could bring them here to help them master their abilities. I worked with a couple of people down here already. Not that they knew where they were. Security and all that."

"Like 'if I told you, I'd have to kill you' type stuff?"

"Not quite so cliche'." Jaune's grin betrayed his amusement as he carried on. "This will be where your training takes place for the most part. We'll be doing tests, simulated combat and even weapon tests to-"

"You're not taking away Crescent Rose." Ruby stated. Her arms folded behind her back in an oddly protective gesture.

"We wouldn't want to." Jaune held up his hands. "But we might be able to find ways of making it fit better with your gifts. Greater firing speed in exchange for smaller clips for example. If you're as fast as I reckon you might be, then you could rattle off a dozen shots before most people even feel the first bullet hit. Now, onto-"

"Jaune!" A roaring voice burst out from the crowd. A vibrant burst of red hair dashed out from the crowds and tackled Jaune. To his credit, Jaune managed to take only one step back as he absorbed the brute force of the blur.

"Hey, Nora!" The two hugged. "You alright? Ren with you?"

"He's on another elevator. Professor needed a word with him and Pyrrha." The redhead turned and Ruby got her first clear look at her.

Strength was the obvious quality this teenager invoked. From her clearly muscled arms to her well defined calf muscles, Ruby had little doubt that "Nora" could crush her into tiny pieces if she wanted to.

 _Have to catch me first!_ She thought, a small trickle of pride with it.

Along with her strength, Nora seemed to possess limitless energy. Even in the bulky arms of Jaune, she couldn't seem to be still. She was almost vibrating with excitement, it seemed, as she glanced rapidly around the hall.

"Ooooooh!" She cooed. "Nice place! Nothing on the main one of course but not bad!"

"Yeah. I was just telling Ruby here-"

"Ruby?" Nora turned. "Ooooh. So that's what the Professor meant by 'he's finally got one.'"

"Listen, just because I had a few failures in the past-"

"Twenty seven!" Nora chimed.

"And there have been setbacks-"

"Like that one guy who could control animals who kept sending squirrels after you! Do you still twitch when you hear them skittering?"

"I thought I told you never to mention that!" Jaune shouted petulantly. "Regardless, Ruby has agreed to work with me to help her understand her abilities."

"That means we get to beat her up, right?"

"How do you know I won't beat you up?" Ruby replied.

Nora's head turned slowly, drawing out the seconds as she did so. "Oooooh. You wanna go? The ring's just over-"

"Nora." A much calmer voice called from behind her. "You'll have plenty of time for beating her later. Leave her for now-"

"Actually, Ren…" Jaune gave the newcomer a quick nod. His pitch black outfit had slight streaks of green running up his lean muscled legs as his relaticely slim frame loomed over Ruby. At his hips, two green machine pistols with sharp dagger attachments dangled loosely. After receiving a nod in return, Jaune continued. "It might not be a bad way to see her combat capabilities."

"You haven't read her file?"

"I have. But there's more to combat than files. As you well know." A single raised eyebrow from Jaune and the two broke into small matching grins.

"Well, alright. If you want her pounded into the dirt so soon, by all means."

"She'll be fine. Besides, Nora won't go that far." He tunred back. "Right, Nora?"

The redhead said nothing, merely cracking her knuckles.

"Nora?"

The group walked over to the arena as Jaune and Ren took their places in the stands. With a slight worry in his voice, Jaune began speaking again. "Alright, simple tournament rules. We've got your Aura levels measured so we'll call it when we need to. You both ready?"

Nora cheered while Ruby simply flicked out Crescent Rose to full length.

"Oh yeah." Ruby called out.

 _This I know. This I can do._

"Neat!" Nora called out. "Mine's better!" With a casual flick, Nora pulled out her hammer and crashed it into the ground.

"No way! Crescent Rose is waaaay better than that tool!"

"Tool?!" Nora cried out. A single swing of the hammer crushed into the ground where Ruby had stood mere moments before.

The battle had begun.

Ruby quickly ran through her own mental checklist. _Okay, so, remember what Dad taught you. Figure out the opponent's style, adapt around it, then attack their weak point for massive damage!_

The Rose Walk surrounded her like a familiar jacket as she dashed around, swinging Crescent Rose high above her head. With a high pitched yell, she tried to bring the blade down onto her opponent.

Only to find the space absent.

"Swing and a miss!" Nora taunted. "Now let me try!"

With blinding speed, Nora wound up her hammer and, like a batter in baseball, took a double handed swing right at Ruby's face.

The world lurched. _No! No, not now!_ The hammer slowed as if moving through sludge. Ruby frantically glanced around, seeing that the whole world had joined it.

It took only a slight moment for Ruby to dodge back out of the way. A single instant later, the hammer rushed straight past her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed both Jaune and Ren stand up out of their seats.

 _No time for that!_ She thought as the hammer span round again, the heavy flat face aiming right for her head. This time, she felt her Aura respond and flickered out of the way, rose petals sprinkled around her.

"Nice trick!" Nora shouted. "My turn!" With a single hand, she thrust the hammer skyward and-

And was immediately tackled by both Jaune and Ren. "Not inside the base!" Jaune shouted.

Nora pouted. "She gets to use hers!"

"Her tricks don't blow up buildings." Ren said. He gave a questioning glance to Jaune and Jaune shook his head.

"What happened there anyway?" Nora said as she stood up. "There wasn't any Aura there. Just one second there and the next, poof! No more Red!"

"That's why she's here. We're gonna be doing a few tests." Jaune said. "Nothing too hard. Ren, your pistols up to some training?"

The click-clack of slides being cocked back rang into Ruby's ears in answer.

"Good. Ruby, how are you feeling?"

Ruby shrugged, a bright grin on her face. "I'm okay. What are we going to do?"

* * *

"You. Officially. Suck." Ruby panted out from the training room floor.

"They're designed to push you hard." Jaune said. "We've all had to do them. Admittedly, the firing range one is new-"

"You all shot at me while I couldn't use Aura!"

"Well, yes but-"

"There were grenades, Jaune!"

"We did talk to Nora about that and-"

"If it hadn't been for your poor aim, my head would've come off!"

"You think my aim's poor?" Jaune said, more surprised than hurt. "Ruby, I was trying to miss. I had a theory I wanted to test out."

"What, about hazing the new guy?"

Jaune laughed a little. "No. You know how you dodged that hammer during the fight? I figured that your speed might have been a reaction to stress or danger. Shooting at you was a way of triggering that response."

"But I didn't use it!"

"You sure?" Ren stepped into view from out of her peripheral vision. "I was having to pump Aura pretty heavily to even get as close as I did."

"And, as my friends are so willing to mention, I've got stupid reflexes. Nora's no slouch either. Why do you think you didn't?"

"Because…" Ruby sat up from the floor. "It didn't feel wrong. Normally my stomach lurches like my Uncle Qrow just offered me a-"

"Wait. Hold on. Did you just say Qrow?" Jaune asked.

"Yep! He's so cool! He fights with this sick sword scythe combo weapon and-"

"Gray hair? Thin? Drinks like he's going for some sort of record?"

"Yeah!" Ruby cheered. "How'd you know him?"

The two boys looked at each other. "We… talked once." Jaune's eye twitched slightly.

"Oh." Ruby thought better than to push that issue. Dad got the same expression whenever whiny parents started complaining about their kid's grades at Signal. "So, what's up with the whole weird thing?"

"Well." Ren said, metaphorically putting on his science hat. "As far as we can tell, your body has some sort of additional energy store that overcharges your body's reaction and action speed times. At least, that's the running theory we're going with. There are others-"

"I still say it could be that she slows everything else down!" Nora shouted from the steel rafters above as she glided down. "I felt my hammer get heavier as I swung it at her!"

"As you can see." Ren gestured at the redhead brute. "Regardless, whatever it is seems to activate when you feel threatened or nervous. Like a kind of super adrenaline rush, almost."

"The problem is that you can't wait for fear to kick in to get you moving." Jaune said. "Which is why I've got a plan."

"Jaune." Nora said. "You can't actually be suggesting-"

"Why not?" Jaune bit back. "She'd get some experience using her ability, some good hand to hand and stealth training and we'd get to know her a little better. Where's the downside?"

"What's going on?" Ruby said, finally having enough energy to stand up.

"Jaune wants you to come patrol with us." Ren said with a skeptical glance at his blond friend. "I'm with Nora here. She'll have enough on her plate with Huntress training. Plus, there's the matter of her potential teammates."

"We can find a reason to cover that! Besides, it'll be perfect. With a fifth person, we can rotate partner work!"

"We barely managed to get approval for the four of us!" Ren said back, a little energy slipping into his voice. "We had to do drills and sanctioned missions before Professor Ozpin would let us near the city!"

"Well, she'll be doing drills at Beacon. If she starts slipping there, then we can talk."

"WHOA!" Ruby shouted. The two bickering boys in front of her, along with the amused Nora to one side, turned to look at her. "I might not know everything about what's going on here, hell I barely know anything, but don't talk about me like I'm not here!"

Jaune and Ren looked at each other. They nodded in unison. "Alright then." Ren gestured to Jaune. "It was your idea. I'll let you pitch it to her. And to the Professor later if she accepts."

"Fine." A cautiously neutral tone. "But you'll let me at least make the offer?" A small nod was all Jaune needed to begin. "Ruby, how would you like to help people? Like, stop bad guys and all that?"

"I'm already a Huntress-"

"No, no. I mean like bad people. People who really want to do some damage to innocent people."

"That sounds good…" Ruby said, her tone uncertain.

"Well, what we've done for about three months is just that. Every night, one or two of us go out into the city and keep our eyes open for any possible criminal activity. If it's big, then we call it in. But for the smaller level stuff, isolated robberies or assaults, we intervene."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because Jaune couldn't wait to play with his new toys." A single amused glare at Ren from Jaune just made him smirk a little.

"Because we all realised that we could do more. We all have... certain tricks as well. We needed to practice with them and so we worked on this. That, and we figured we could do some real immediate good. Hunting's great and I wouldn't give it up for anything. This is just another way of helping people.

"So, what do you say?"

Ruby looked at Jaune, straight in his eerily clear blue eyes, searching for any sign of deceit. Her thoughts rushed to the forefront of her mind.

 _It's helping people. Surely that can't be bad?_

 _Well, no, but think about how much stuff we're gonna have to do…_

 _It can't be that hard? We kicked those guys' butts at the store without any help._

 _Yeah but-_

"Don't you think I get a say, Mr Arc?" A slow measured voice said from behind them.

The tall, gray haired form of the Headmaster stood on the elevator platform, his face a mask of neutrality.

* * *

 **(rwbyfan5** \- Beta. Explorer. King of the Pine Trees.

Until next time!)


	7. Chapter 7

" _We received a new subject today._

 _Normally, I wouldn't remark on such a common occurrence but this one seems... different somehow._

 _For one thing, he's not obviously visually distinct from regular humanity. Most of the other subjects we have encountered and documented up until this point have had some feature or behaviour that has distinguished them from other people. But not this one. Had he not told us what he knew, we would have probably missed him._

 _The strangest thing is he volunteered to be here. Found the base using his power, so he says, and wanted to help out. We've yet to test anything about him so we can't be sure if he's telling the truth just yet. He seemed sincere enough when security locked the handcuffs around him._

 _While we set up the tests, the subject requested literature. Specifically, historical literature. The last supply run brought in several new additions to the Library for the longer term staff and I thought there was no harm in passing over a single book. None of the documented cases so far have required any implements to use their gifts so I doubt he's trying to escape._

 _At least, not yet. The first round of tests are scheduled for tomorrow._

 _When I handed him the book, one of the "Marvels of Remnant" series, he laughed. A full belly laugh. I asked him why he found it so funny._

" _This was how I found you." He said. He just kept grinning after that._

 _We'll see how long that lasts."_

 _From the Recovered Pages of Professor Argen's Journal._

* * *

Clack. Clack. Clack.

The cane hitting the floor echoed louder than any raised voice could have. An almost indescribable aura of authority surrounded the man as he walked up to the group of teens.

"Well?"

Ruby looked over at Jaune. Before he could speak, Ruby launched in. "I think it's a good idea!"

His head turned slowly towards her. "Oh, Miss Rose? Why do you think that?"

"Because… Because you wouldn't want me here if you just wanted to see about my abilities. You could have easily just called me out of class and tested me and then sent me back without revealing this place." Seeing a slight nod, Ruby continued. "The best way for me to train this… thing is to do so in an active environment. By fighting bad guys, I get experience in both fighting people and my ability!"

Professor Ozpin maintained his still gaze on the shorter girl. His face remained carefully neutral. "And what do I do if you fail?" He clacked his cane against the ground in frustration. "Mr Arc works for the Prism Foundation as do Mr Ren and Miss Valkyrie. I can easily explain and divert attention away from any potential problems they have. For the most part at least...

"But you, Miss Rose, are a Huntress in training to the outside world. Your actions and your behaviours outside of your Hunting duties are scrutinised by people at every imaginable level. If you are caught, it is entirely possible that I will not be able to help you. The consequences of any failures would be on your shoulders alone."

"Professor." Ruby started, a resolve in her eyes. "I can help people. You've already dragged me into working with Jaune and his "team." Why not let us train together now instead of later? I assume-"

"You assume much, Miss Rose." The stony face and expression stared back at her until Ozpin let out a sigh. "But, you make an interesting point."

"Very well. Miss Rose can go patrolling with you, Mr Arc-"

"Woo!"

"-And Mr Ren, and Miss Valkyrie, and Miss Nikos when she finishes her missions and her business in school. You will rotate who you go out on patrol with, Miss Rose. If you are to work with Jaune and his team, you will learn to work with all of them. Am I understood?"

At the collected group's nod, Ozpin continued. "Good. The disguise protocol will also be in effect. Miss Rose, you will have to leave Crescent Rose at Beacon before you can go on patrol."

"What?! But how am I supposed to fight!" Ruby protested. "My hand to hand skills are good but I'm so much better with my baby in my hands!"

"It's too easily linked back to you." Ren pointed out. "We all have to do it except Nora. And even she has particular rules about that-"

"Stupid no striking fools with lightning." Nora grumbled.

"Trust me. When it comes to the types of people we come up against, your scythe would be overkill. Besides, it's all part of the practice." Ren nodded as he patted Nora on the back.

"But what about Jaune!" Ruby said, desperately clinging onto her beloved weapon. "When I met him, he had his sword and shield out!"

"Wasn't on patrol." Jaune stated. "I was there to meet you. I'd hoped to catch you in the store and then those goons interfered."

"You fought goons?!" Nora cried excitedly. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Later?" Jaune said, gesturing to the crowd staring at them.

"I'm sure, Mr Arc, that you will explain everything else. Do be sure to see the Quartermaster here for new combat gear, all of you." The Professor tapped his cane gently on the ground and began to walk off.

"Professor!" Ruby called out.

"Yes, Miss Rose?"

She paused for a moment. "Thank you."

"Simply show me that you are taking this seriously and that will be thanks enough." His tone was at odds with his face. The neutrality of one clashed with the slight hint of happiness of the other. The clacking of the cane against the steel floor filled her ears as a small smile came to her face.

"C'mon," said Jaune. "We've got to get measured for new clothes. Might as well join us."

* * *

"Does it have to be so… dark?" Her voice was slightly muffled by the thin fabric that was acting as her mask. She looked down at her sleek leather jacket. She could feel the weight of the armored sections in the hood and torso press upon her like they did in her regular gear. She felt her combat boots flex against her feet as she rolled her toes together. The slight red threads that criss crossed the entire ensemble were the only concession to Ruby's normal sense of fashion.

That and the combat skirt. Some habits never die.

"Preaching to the choir, sister. I talked about getting some bright pink and they were all like 'No, that's not stealthy!' and I was like 'I'm not stealthy! I throw lightning at fools!'"

"About that…" Ruby said, her new uniform flowing in the evening wind. "Are you… y'know, like me?"

"Hm?" Nora said. "Oh! You mean like a Marvel! Nah."

"So what are you then?" Ruby asked before her thoughts mentally clapped slowly at her poor choice of phrasing.

"Badass, that's what." Nora laughed. "You remember the rules?"

"No being seen if possible. No intervention if we find an established operation. Stick to singles or pairs committing crimes. Radio base in case of possible major threats. Any Grimm in the city are free to engage. I miss anything?"

"Nope! You think you can make that jump over there?" Nora pointed to a building about fifty feet away.

"Probably. Bit of a run up-"

"Think you could make it without Aura?" Nora's grin was as much a challenge as her words were.

"But-But!"

"You've been training for nearly a week. Jaune thinks you're ready and everyone back at base agrees. You know how to activate it, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Then go for it!" With a mighty slap on the back, Ruby found herself sprinting towards the edge. Her boots crunched against the rough surface of the roof while the wind rushed through her hair.

The world slowed as it had seemingly hundreds of times before. Her feet didn't slow down any but she could feel that same lurching sensation in her stomach. That same awkward rush that pushed her faster and faster towards the edge and the ground and-

 _Leap!_

Her legs sprang her slight frame into the air. Ten, twenty, thirty feet straight up, it felt like. She looked around for a brief second and saw the start of Nora's eyes widening in what she hoped was surprise and not fear.

She turned back. As rapid as her ascent into the night sky was, her descent came even quicker. Ruby could see that she was gonna land-

 _ **SLAM.**_

 _Owwww._

Nora followed behind her, floating over using her hammer. "Haha! Nice! Full marks for the launch but poor show on the landing!"

Ruby picked herself up from the ground gently rubbing her lower back. "At least I made it without some stupid hammer!"

"Yep! Magnhild is pretty awesome!"

 _I can feel the smug coming off you…_ Ruby thought bitterly.

"That'll probably be the only exciting thing that happens tonight. Welcome to Boresville, Rubes."

"Huh? But I thought-"

"Don't get me wrong, there are nights where we get to kick butt up and down the streets. But it's only like one or two people at most. And they're all so easy!"

"That's a good thing, right?"

"I guess…" Nora sagged to sit down. "You ready for tomorrow?"

"Yep!" Ruby smiled. "It's so exciting! Finding out who our partners are gonna be, team assignments…" She hopped a little. She turned her head toward Nora, questions plain as day on her face. "Do you-"

"Know anything? Nope. Ozpin wouldn't tell us anything and all of the other Prism staff at the base at Beacon aren't Huntsmen. You heard anything?"

"Yang said something about "mud wrestling" but when I asked her what that was, she just laughed. I haven't really talked to anyone else besides you, Ren and Jaune." Ruby shrugged.

"Ah…" Nora's face hinted a shade of red before she shook her head. "It'll probably be something simple like names out of a hat. Y'know, something really random." She paused before she looked at Ruby again. "You talked to your sister about your Marvel thing yet?"

Ruby's head dropped. "No. There's just no good time. With her trying to find out how I got into Beacon so soon, I just think that mentioning it will cause more questions."

Nora shrugged. "Eh. It's your freaky weird power. You do you."

The two continued leap from building to building. The still night air was punctuated with the occasional sound of bodies crunching against rooftops and a young girl's voice quashing any sounds of "Ow!"

Eventually, that girl asked a question. "Hey, what's going on with Jaune and Weiss?"

"Jaune wouldn't tell you, huh? Kept saying he would but avoids it somehow?" Ruby nodded. "Yep. He doesn't like to admit what happened there to anybody."

"Didn't he assault her or something? The way she went off at him before the Headmaster's speech…" Ruby shook her head.

"No." Nora's eyes locked directly with Ruby's. "Jaune was trying to save her, no doubt about it."

"She seems to think so."

"She's annoyed that her last performance got interrupted. She didn't see the sniper in the crowd or the ammunition she was using. Jaune had to leap from the balcony and dive straight into her. Took a bullet in the ribs and then managed to get her to safety. Just because her father got all snippy with him doesn't give her the right to."

"That can't be it…" Ruby's mind raced around, riffling through facts and potential theories before a light bulb sprung to life above her head. "What was Jaune doing there?"

"Don't know. Jaune said he was a fan of her music. Does that matter?"

"Did he have any time alone with her later?"

"Are you suggesting-!" Nora grasped her hammer and glared at the younger girl.

"No! No! Just… Jaune got me here, right? He approached me and got me into this team, right?" At Nora's nod, Ruby continued. "So what if he made the same offer to her? What if she didn't want anyone to know about what she could do? I know I don't."

"You think Weiss Schnee, a girl who was watched by scores of adoring fans not to mention thousands of guards, is a Marvel and nobody knows about it?"

"I think that Jaune isn't a fan of her music, certainly."

"Hmm… Let me think about that." Nora tapped her hammer against her black sneakers. "Certainly been quiet enough tonight for chatting-"

A low scream tore up from a nearby street.

"Then again, maybe not." Nora said as they both sprinted towards the noise. Leaping from rooftop to street level, they quickly caught sight of the screamer.

An older man leaned against the front window of what Ruby assumed to be his store. In large calligraphy above him were the words "All is Dust." To his left, stalking out the front door, were numerous men and women of a variety of different sizes and shapes. The only thing that marked them as a group were the pale white and violent red masks they all wore. Standing over the man on the floor was a larger woman with a greatsword.

Said sword was currently trying to bury itself in the wall through the storekeeper. Ruby looked over at her patrol partner and found her crouched over with her fists clenched against her hammer.

"C'mon." Nora said, muscles tightening. "You in?"

Ruby nodded and shot forth in a mighty leap. With a slight twist in mid air, she collided feet first with one of the larger goons, sending him spiraling off down the street and scattering the Dust he'd been carrying all over the street.

"What the-!" Shouted the large swordwielder, pulling the blade out of the old man. "Get them!"

At her cry, the mask wearing contingent all drew an array of melee weapons and advanced menacingly on the new threat that had dared to interfere with their raid.

 _C'mon._ Ruby though, dancing her feet and holding her guard up just like Yang had taught her. _Bring it._

A lunging two person assault began the dance of carnage as Ruby sprung back and crouched down, letting the mace and hammer swing right over her. Feeling that lurching feeling, Ruby let it flow over her and forced herself forwards.

A single instant later, her fists met their faces in a flurry of blows that sent them and some of their teeth crashing against the ground.

"Hooo-ah!" She cried, holding out a challenging hand.

The greatsword wielder just shouted at the crew again. "C'mon you morons! She's just one-"

The hammer crashed right down next to her, sending the woman flying in the opposite direction as Nora quickly landed on it and spun around the pole, scattering the goons that were closest. A mighty leap forced the hammer off of the ground and a mighty smash collided with one poor goon straight in the face.

He hit the ground and went still. Nora's bright blue eyes issued a challenge to all the other fools in the area as Ruby just held her stance.

The larger woman, her muscles rippling through her body armor, dashed off in one direction as the group rushed off with their stolen loot in another.

"You take the big one!" Nora shouted. "I can round up these morons. Meet back here!" Like the lightning bolt on the hilt of her hammer, Nora blazed ahead and began swatting the large group of fools one by one.

They didn't stand a chance.

By the time Nora had finished explaining, the supposed leader of the robbers had already made it round a corner. Ruby desperately reached out for her speed once more, expecting that lurching feeling to come over her and -

 _Nothing?_ She thought. _C'mon!_

Using her own natural speed, Ruby gave chase. Leaping over knocked over trash cans and dodging the odd object thrown at her, Ruby eventually laid a hand on her prey and-

 _ **WHAM.**_

"Roman wasn't lying when he talked about the do-gooders in town." She mocked, planting a boot into Ruby's prone form. "You just stay down." Ruby noticed out of the corner of her eye that the woman had placed a hand to her ear. "Mr Torchwick? Yeah, we got another one. Nah, no scythe on this one…"

It continued on in this way as Ruby clutched at her chest. Her Aura was rapidly trying to fix the damage; she could feel it running through her.

 _Ugh… How'd she hit me so hard? Even with Aura…_

"Well," The giant woman said, drawing out the word like she might a a sword. "You're outta luck. Boss says I can get rid of you without too much trouble from the cops. What with you being dressed up all sneaky."

The sword cut through the air.

Ruby felt the knot in her stomach grow, the lurching feeling came back, and she just grinned.

 _Alright!_

She leapt up, fist balled up, and launched a punch straight into the jaw of her opponent. She imagined a flaming arc following her fist as her momentum pushed her higher into the air.

She landed. Her opponent landed a couple of moments later with a dull thump.

"Woo! Take that!" Ruby hopped into the air.

It only took her a few seconds to rush back to the store with the heavy muscles of her would have been opponent in tow. What greeted her was a sight to behold.

"Did you have to stack them up?" Ruby said.

"Hey, they tried to touch the hammer." Nora said. "Nobody. Touches. The hammer." She looked over at Ruby's hauled companion. "She out?"

"Yeah. Mentioned a name before I super punched her into the air. Ever heard of someone called 'Roman Torchwick?' or I guess it could be Torchwick Roman…"

"No…" Nora said. "It could be an alias? Better report it back at base. For now, you got those ties?"

As they began tying up the criminal element they had spent almost minutes on taking down, Ruby noticed something.

"Where'd she go!"

"Who?"

"The leader! She was right here!"

A faint tapping of boot on concrete caught her attention.

"There!" She dashed around the corner and found the alleyway she was looking at annoyingly empty. "How'd she get away so fast?!"

"We'll report it back at base." Nora said, finishing up the ties on the last goon. "For now, be happy that we caught these guys quick."

Ruby sighed. "But-"

"Nope!" Nora had a huge grin on her face. "None of that! Be happy!"

The hammer clenched in her hands seemed to lighten Ruby's mood very quickly.

* * *

(Betaed by **rwbyfan5!**

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Well, maybe not everyone... Just one? A single person?

Until next time!)


	8. Chapter 8

" _ **Day Thirty:**_ _EVA continues to amaze and astound. My employers, in their infinite wisdom, have asked if she can be replicated across other systems so that they could be automated._

 _I told them to ask her. It was only fair. If I had as much faith in my creation as they thought I did, I owed it to EVA to trust that she could make this decision._

 _She declined, of course. They ranted at me, raved and shouted and threatened for hours until I told them that she wasn't merely a rather sophisticated "dumb" AI. That she was a thinking, feeling creation that would act in her own best interests if she felt threatened._

 _They changed their tune in a matter of moments. Popular culture has taught them about the "dangers" of AI and they have effectively quarantined EVA to my lab. She will be able to access the system, use file space and have user privileges like she had before, but the main structure of her mind, the core data, remains with me._

 _I told her the bad news straight away. She probably would have found out some other way anyway. To my surprise, she didn't seem to mind. Said she had enough room to do what she wanted in my laboratory. That she was fine talking to me about the further projects._

 _I find myself enjoying our conversations more and more. Where once I saw the coding lines in my head, connecting sequence with speech, I now see a truly developed mind._

 _She created a visual interface for herself yesterday. It's only a head but she's expressed a desire to generate a full body sometime in the future._

 _It is the least I can do to help her with that task."_

 _From the Project LMD Notes of Professor Polendina._

* * *

Ruby Rose had had years of training to be a Huntress. From the informal games she used to play with her sister and her father to the more formal tuition from her uncle to the lessons at Signal Academy, she'd spent nearly two thirds of her life working towards that goal. Nonetheless, it would have surprised no-one that knew her what the single thought running her head was as she was catapulted high into the air:

 _Wheeeeeeee!_

Her hair ruffled and flicked about, the wind being forced through it while Ruby stared at the area around her. She'd watched as other Hunters and Huntresses had been flung into the air, each reacting to the sudden force with a unique reaction. Distantly, she caught the tell tale sounds of Ember Celica firing and a faint "yeaaaaah!" being yelled into the air.

 _Woooo! Go, sis!_

Eventually, in far too short a time for Ruby's liking, the ground started to come up to meet her far too quickly.

 _Landing strategy time._ With practiced speed, the thrill vanished to be replaced by dispassionate analysis. _Large tree at one o'clock. Basic style, use weaponry and Semblance in equal measure and disperse momentum as a priority._

 _Three, two- Mark!_

She flipped in mid air, letting her speed carry her feet over her head as she transformed Crescent Rose into full on scythe mode. Reaching out with the blade as if it were her own hand, she touched the tree with the sharpened hook and felt her body lurch to follow.

 _Lean in. Keep it going, don't fight._

A couple of laps around the tree were all she needed to plant her boots on the rough bark before she unleashed her Aura. A handful of petals formed around her. The rush of velocity surged through her. The Rose Walk flourished into life while Ruby let her Aura encase her.

 _ **Pat. Pat. Patpatpatpatpat-**_ The rhythm of her boots against the bark went like a woodpecker on meth. She ignored the rushing ground, instead focusing on the couple of Ursa Grimm that had come to play at the bottom of the tree.

 _Oh yes…_ The analysis finished, Ruby sunk back into enjoying where she was. The thrill of adrenaline sent her mind reeling as instinct took over.

The Grimm barely had time to react as the full force of a rocketing teenager hit it full force in the bone white mask. A sickening crunch echoed throughout the forest clearing before it was joined with several loud punctuated shots. The other Grimm turned to look at it's fallen comrade, seeing only the barest remnants of the tar-like flesh sink into the ground.

It roared in response before the scythe cut into its' neck and a final shot tore the blade straight through it.

The clearing went still. A second later, a childish cheer broke the silence. "Woooo!" Ruby said, half exhausted from her landing. "Badass!" She looked around, seeing nothing other than more woods around her.

 _No partner here. I wonder if I can make it to Yang… She landed somewhere over there. I think…_ She turned, letting the sun warm her back and walked towards an opening in the treeline. _Man, I can't wait to see who I get. Jaune'd be cool. Yang'd be sweet. Ren or Nora seem nice, even if Ren seems a little distant._

 _Actually, Nora might crush me if I got Ren. She seems possessive like tha-_

A deafening chorus of roars interrupted. Ruby turned her head toward the source of the noise.

 _Beowulves. Whole pack of them._

She quickly reloaded Crescent Rose. The familiar click clack helped calm her nerves as she caught sight of the first set of eyes

Then the next. And the next. A seeming ocean of eyes, all glaring at her, sprung to life out from the heavy canopy of the forest. Somehow absorbing what little light penetrated the thick nests of branches overhead, the Beowulves' fur bristled at the blood red weapon. Their teeth bared, they stalked into the clearing. More and more padded their way in until they formed a loose circle around the young Huntress.

 _Ooooohkay._ Ruby thought, her pulse pounding through her. _Just gotta keep calm. No stupid moves. Just like bef-_

A flash of claws forced her skywards as she forced Aura through her body to flip straight over the blow. Using the outstretched paw as a springboard, she burst forth straight into the sky and took note of the arena she had landed in not moments before.

 _Dammit! They've got a complete circle around me. They're too far apart for me to get any good shots on the group. Hmmm…_

A lightbulb went off above Ruby's head and the slaughter commenced.

Gunshots flew through the air, impacting the ground through the inky flesh of the Grimm. Even as they flinched away from the pain, Ruby could see even from her high position that they were recovering. She pointed Crescent Rose up at the clear blue sky and clicked the trigger.

 **BOOM.**

She rocketed towards the ground and aimed for a small clear spot on the outside of the slobbering beasts. A rush of Aura flooded through her muscles and she felt the rose petals fall around her. An instant later, a blood red blur began to corral the Beowulves closer and closer together. The dim light of intelligence behind the beasts' eyes screamed at them as cuts sprang into existence on their claws as they tried to escape.

With another booming shot, Ruby leapt back up into the air and observed the ground beneath her. A bloodthirsty grin crept onto her face.

' _Target rich,' isn't that what Uncle Qrow called something like this?_

The cluster of Grimm under her had just started to move out of the small piece of forest that Ruby had corralled them into before-

 **BOOM.**

One shot blew off the beast's paw.

 **BOOM. BOOM.**

Two more took it out along with the packmate to it's right.

The sound in the forest could be compared to an orchestral piece composed entirely of percussion instruments. For nearly a minute, all that could be heard was the staccato beats of high calibre shots slamming into the Grimm's flesh as Ruby kept the group in check before crunching into the ground. Her Aura pulsed through her, mixing with the adrenaline and pounding the thrill of the fight into Ruby's mind.

 _Full scythe. Channel the Aura like Dad taught me._

The air exploded into a flurry of strikes and cuts. As each beast now dimly aware of it's fate tried to escape, Ruby cut any limb within her range. With her scythe, she could easily slice through the entire group in one mighty gory instance had she the strength.

Instead, the massacre was meticulously well executed. Each strike placed to use as little energy as possible while keeping the momentum high.

The remaining Beowolves were slaughtered in seconds.

Ruby panted, the adrenaline leaving her system with the Aura. _Whew._ She thought. _That was... That was pretty cool!_

She leapt a little in the air and cheered. She then clapped her hands straight over her mouth and looked around, worried that someone might start laughing.

Seeing no such person, and thanking whatever deities that had prevented her embarrassment, Ruby began to-

 **BOOM.**

 _Did Crescent Rose- No. That came from over there!_

Hearing only the faint howling of Grimm, Ruby Rose dashed off towards the fight.

* * *

 _Foul fiend!_

Weiss lashed out with a single easy twist of Myrtenaster, cutting through the beast's flesh. The chamber spun as she pushed it, switching to a fresh compartment of Dust.

 _Pure fire dust straight to the maw. Never fails._

The rapid explosion had died down as she swept through the limping, growling form of her foe. Gnashing teeth bit out at her before she stabbed her rapier straight in between the bright red eyes of the last survivor.

Weiss made a move towards an opening in the tree line. She'd thought she'd seen-

 _Ooof!_

A blurred form tackled her to the floor. Panic flooding her, Weiss focused her Semblance straight in front of her. The glowing sigil of spinning glyphs repulsed the form on top of her.

"Ooow!" The assailant cried.

 _That's an odd Grimm cry._

Taking a closer look, Weiss saw the form of a deep red battle uniform. The vibrant red trimming across the hem of the dress along with frankly absurd weapon the girl held in her hand left no doubt in her mind as to who her tackler had been.

"You!" She cried. "What are you doing here!"

"I saw the Grimm and I-" She began, her high pitched whine already sending irritation up Weiss' spine.

"And what, thought you'd help them?! You just barreled into me, you… you…!" She paused before finishing, instead crying into the sky in frustration. "Just. Pretend you didn't see me and leave."

The girl stood up, brushing off a couple of stray flecks of mud from her dress. "But, the Professor said-"

"I heard the Professor! I was there!" The irritation pulsed up her spine again-

 _Wait._ She thought. _Oh no. No. No. No! Not here!_

That same energy, that pulsing tension she'd felt back at the initiation ceremony, swelled within her. Weiss grit her teeth and said "Leave."

"But-!"

A mighty roar burst up from the woods. The cries seemed to echo around them.

The silver eyes of the other girl looked towards Weiss and narrowed. A single nod was their response.

 _Kill Grimm now._ Weiss flicked out Myrtenaster, twirling the rapier in a familiar pattern. _Deal with annoying girl after._

The branches exploded towards her. A casual block from a sigil slowed the debris down, as if they'd been thrown by a child. Looking through the small gaps, Weiss caught sight of her prey.

It was massive; the dark sinews of the muscles that comprised its' form clearly visible in the bright noon day sun. The pure white mask had a single red mark down the middle in jagged cracks as the eyes glared at her. The growling maw of the beast was caked in blood as it drooled onto the forest ground. Its' front legs dragged it into the clearing as its' hind legs seemed a mile away. The spiked tail, swishing behind the long body of the beast, had a single spike on the end. It, too, was covered in blood.

 _Sekhmet._ The adrenaline flooded through her. _Easily a pack leader, or was one at any rate. We need to-_

Gunshots whizzed past her ears. _What is she doing?!_ A battle cry, more childish than scary due to the voice of the crier, rang in her ears as a red form dashed past her. The scythe was held high above her head.

"No!" Weiss lunged out with Myrtenaster. A click of the hilt sent the main chamber spinning until it locked on to a full chamber. A quick glance down was all Weiss needed before she swiped the air in front of her.

An arc of flame ripped through the air towards the great lioness mockery, forcing it to dodge out of the way or burn. The girl simply turned round, those silver eyes staring almost accusingly.

"We need a plan of attack!" Weiss shouted.

"I have a plan!" The girl cried back. There was a lingering pause broken only by the growling.

"Which is-"

"Attack!" She then dashed in again, letting her scythe whistle through the air.

"Ugh!" Weiss protested. With a flash of Aura, she resigned herself to her fate and lunged forward with her rapier.

 _The eyes!_ Her own widened as the Aura continued to flow through her. The air rushed past her and she felt the blade sink deep into the beast's flesh.

It roared in response. The undamaged demonic red eye glared at her and the teeth were bared towards her.

 _Oh._

She backflipped to avoid the massive claw swiping down at her. She then proceeded to keep flipping as the front claws slammed down in rapid succession. Distantly, at least for her focus, she could hear the gunshots pinging off the beast's mask. She saw the Sekhmet turn around.

The stab went into the beast's hindquarters as Weiss clicked her hilt again.

Frost started to spread over the beast's hind legs and-

 **CRACK.**

 _What the- Oh, she didn't!_

"What are you doing?!"

"Keeping it focused on me!" The girl shouted back.

"So you shot off my ice?!" Weiss shouted before springing over the swung tail and landing in a three point stance. "We need to focus on the eyes!" She shouted over the roaring now filling the clearing. "You think you can manage that?"

No response. _Fine. I'll have to do it._

Aura filling her stride, Weiss leapt easily over the sleek muscles of the Sekhmet and lunged forward. Her sword-

Another bullet wizzed past her head, hitting the beast in the other eye. It slumped to the ground dead as the inky blackness sunk into the dirt. The last thing to go were the eyes, still dripping malice and blood as they vanished.

"Wooo! That was pretty cool, huh?"

Weiss turned slowly around. _I will not lose control. I will not. I will simply address the situation in a calm manner._ She took a deep breath and turned towards the other girl. Her sniper scythe was held behind her as Weiss looked at her.

Another deep breath. "What. Was. That?"

"Huh?"

The familiar pulse of energy filled her as she gave in to her anger. "You just shot at my head! If you'd been a single inch off, I could been knocked down or worse had my Aura reduced into the red because of that!"

"B-But!"

"And worse, you didn't even call out anything to warn me you were firing!" The energy crept up her shoulder. "I can't believe you'd do that!"

"I know my baby!" The other girl shouted back. "I knew the tolerances and compensated for it. Besides, it's not like you got hurt or anything…"

Weiss stomped towards her and jabbed her finger into the girl's chest. "That. Was. Luck." Each word punctuated by a stab forced more energy down her shoulder and into her upper arm. "If you'd just left me to hit the beast with my rapier-"

"You'd have been hit by the tail." She said.

 _What?_ "What?"

"You didn't see the giant swinging tail? I thought that was your plan while I hit the thing in the eye while you held off the tail but then you didn't move and I had to act quick and-"

"Stop blabbering!" Weiss shouted. "I could have killed it before that tail got within reach of me. I could have killed this so much sooner if you'd just followed what I'd said! And now, I'm stuck with you as a partner! You! A girl too young to be here who just tried to shoot me in the head!"

"That's not very nice, Weiss. I only did-"

"You nearly shot me." Weiss said. _How can she not understand that?_

"Man, Jaune was lucky to avoid you."

Her mind screeched to a halt. _She can't mean…_

"Jaune?" Weiss said. "As in, Jaune Arc?"

"Yeah." The word caused Weiss' eye to twitch. "He's all 'Weiss isn't so bad' and 'she's dealing with a lot right now' but he clearly doesn't-"

"You…" The anger filled her, forcing more and more foul energy throughout her body. "Know that man?"

"Ye-"

"You have no idea what he did to me! What he caused! I'd have been on my way to Beacon free and clear after my last concert and then that complete fool leaps out of the crowd and has the blinding lack of intelligence to suggest that someone was there to shoot me! Even though there was no evidence from my guards or my father's security and all the footage from the concert was checked by outside sources!"

"But-"

"No!" She cried again. Through the haze of her fury, she could feel the Dust in Myrtenaster respond to the energy within her. She didn't care. "My father used that idiot's attempt to get a signature to force me into combat against a Geist in some ancient suit of armor. Father wouldn't have had to do that if Jaune had just left well enough alone and stayed where he was!"

"Uh, Wei-"

"And worst of all." She said. "Worst of all, he had the sheer gall to ask me to join his little club. Mentioned facts and secrets that no-one, no-one at all!, should have known! The embarrassment as my father walked in…"

Myrtenaster glowed brightly.

"Weiss, look out!"

 **BOOM.**

* * *

( **rwbyfan5** is the beta reader. As you should all well know by now.

So, I have listened to wisdom and finally moved both Scarlet and Topaz over to the RWBY section instead of the crossover section. Many thanks to those who encouraged me to do so.

New Review! Many thanks to **VV** for that. Hope you're still enjoying the story!

Until next time!)


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